The Statement of Principles terminated on 30 June 2013. The UK Essay

The Statement of Principles terminated on 30 June 2013. The UK Government has proposed a new programme, including a new mechanis - Essay Example The fishing industry offers employment to around 250,000 people in Indonesia and thus, with this tsunami there were a number of people that lost their jobs3. Tsunami not only has resulted in the death of local people in Indonesia, but there were a number of tourists from different parts of the world especially from Europe that came under the fire as well. Around 9,000 foreign tourists were dead in this flood, and most of these tourists were from European countries4. However, there is little that the government can do in such a catastrophic situation. Although there are certain techniques and strategies that the government can take in order to reduce the impact of these floods such as Stormguard Flood-plan can be implemented in order to be better prepared for such situations as well as to reduce the impact of such disasters5. Similarly, there have been floods in United Kingdom as well. Although the disasters were not as high as Indian Ocean tsunami but still a large number of people l ost their lives. North Sea flood is the worst flood that has occurred in United Kingdom6. North Sea flood occurred on 31st January, 1953 and a number of areas were affected including Belgium, Scotland, Netherlands and England7. The causalities because of the North Sea flood were equaled to 2,142 including 354 people that lost their lives in United Kingdom alone8. ... Thus, it badly affected the economic situation of the country. The damage estimated was around  ?5,000 which if compared in today’s monetary terms would be equal to ?740,00010. The London School Of Economics has announced and warned about flood risk in Britain. According to the research conducted by the school Britain is a highly risky area because of the changes in climate along with the continuous development in floodplains for both residential as well as commercial properties. Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment have conducted research and published the paper. They have also been consulted by the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)11. Therefore, this paper has raised concerns and risks for people that are buying and investing properties. In order to overcome this issue and concerns of the public, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) along with the natio nal government has come up with the Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) which is known as Flood Re. This Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the government, and the carriers and on the basis of this MoU, a non-profit or a not-for-profit flood fund has been developed12. Association Of British Insurers (ABI) is an important company in the insurance industry as it has more than 90% of the market share in the United Kingdom insurance market13. The basic idea of this Flood Re is to offer a cap flood insurance premium for the property owners. This insurance premium will be according to the value of the properties. Moreover, this fund will offer insurance to people that are at a higher risk for flood

Emerging Viral Diseases Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emerging Viral Diseases - Research Paper Example The modification of the given genetic makeup of the host has also contributed to make them susceptible to diseases (Beltz 19). The disease causing viral agents have also modified their genetic makeup to increase their survival in the host’s system. Human behavior can also be attributed to the cause of the emergence and re-emergence of viral diseases. Human behavior such as urbanization, population increase, and migration lead to spread of diseases (Beltz 136). As people begin to occupy previously uninhabited areas, they get exposed to new environmental sources of infectious viral agents. Changes in food handling, storage, and processing by humans has also led to new spread (Beltz 145). Human advancement in bio warfare also increases the risk of contracting new and emerging disease threats. Ecological factors such as climate change have also led to emergence and re-emergence of new and old diseases (Beltz 162). Climate changes cause shifts in the geographical distribution of di sease causing agents and vectors. The shift in climatic conditions causes the agents to inhabit new regions causing diseases. Public health response to emerging and re-emerging diseases is vital in controlling and eliminating the threats of the viral agents. The response by public health organizations takes various forms. An enactment of global surveillance systems of the viral diseases is a vital response tool. These surveillance systems contain diagnostic and communication tools that detail disease spread plus its monitoring. Surveillance ensures that public health officials can map out the people affected by the viral disease spread, and how they can undertake their response to stop the disease spread (Beltz 256). Vaccination also presents a response by public health organs. The development of new drugs also gets carried out to nullify the effect of any emerging viral diseases (Beltz 258). The public health sector can also respond to emerging and re-emerging diseases by conductin g public health education. Health education is used as a vital tool to prevent disease spread among the public. Public health officials disseminate health messages concerning the diseases that get spread. The public health sector may also respond by initiating vector and zoonotic control (Beltz 270). Public health officials may employ the use or develop safe insecticides to trap the disease causing agents. The understanding of the reproductive cycle of HIV and other disease causing viruses is vital in stopping the spread of diseases. Infectious diseases can get prevented at a variety of points dependent on the infectious cycle of the diseases (Beltz 300). Understanding an infectious cycle of a virus is vital to allow for the identification of accessible targets for control strategies. The reproductive cycle of the viruses comes in handy in the development of drugs that alleviate their effect on the host’s body. Understanding the reproductive cycles of viruses ensures that sci entists can identify the points within their life cycles where the viruses are most vulnerable to intervention. This allows the scientists to develop tools such as vaccines and drugs that can fight of the spread of the disease causing viruses in the host’s body. Scientists get to design drugs that are more suppressive of the viruses and have fewer side effects on persons with disease. Understanding the life cycle of disease causing viruses also assists scientists to make predictions about the disease, and

Compare and contrast Russo-Chechen wars to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Essay

Compare and contrast Russo-Chechen wars to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Discuss with special reference to theories of conflict - Essay Example A similar massacre of Azerbaijanis followed in the Armenian city of Spitak. The Armenian protests against Azerbaijan based on Nagorno-Karabakh actually started in the perestroika spirit, but it immediately turned out to be a political organisation called Karabakh Committee that stood for an extensive anticommunist coalition for national sovereignty and democracy. 1 Similarly, the war between Russia and Chechnya started with the ambition of the former to topple the latter’s president through military intervention. The military intervention turned out to be a complete warfare against the people of Chechnya through the invasion and brutal bombing of civil areas in an awkward attempt to bring down the Dudayev regime. The war also awoke the dormant fighting spirit of the Chechens which they had gained from their long martial tradition with roots from a century long, persistent warfare with the imperialist Russian empire in the nineteenth century. 2 The mounting loss on the Russian side provoked its generals to make a quick response to the Chechen resistance through indiscriminate artillery and aerial bombardment on Chechnya’s capital. The death toll of people in the city was huge and the city was levelled in every part in an attempt by Russia to subdue the Chechen defenders. 3 The conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous area to separate from Azerbaijan and merge with Armenia that started in 1988 was called illegal with reference to the Soviet Constitution of 1978 that allowed merger of a region to another nation only with the permission of the home republic. The conflict in Southern Ossetia since 1990 is a similar case where the autonomous region is a part of north eastern Georgia and the war was provoked by the national administration and supported by the imperialists in Moscow. The support from Moscow was to weaken Georgia. The Georgian-Abkhazian conflict has been the bloodiest of all wars in the region. Though there are differences in

The Mexican War and Manifest destiny Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Mexican War and Manifest destiny - Essay Example This encouraged western expansion, with the ultimate aim of controlling the entire North America. The federal government policy also served as an incentive to the expansion of the west. This can be related to the Homestead Act of 1862 that encouraged the development of the agricultural west. Another incentive for the expansion of the west was the development of transportation. The economy of the west was based on cultivation of cotton. As a result, the canal system developed because of steam boats. Development of railroads also played a significant role in the development of the west. For example, the transcontinental rail road played an essential role in the growth of the population and trade (Mountjoy, 2009). Despite the expansion of the west, several factors can be associated with the opposition to the expansion. The expansion of the west faced massive opposition from anti-slave Northerners, who believed that additional territories would encourage the legalization of slavery. They purported that western expansion would ensure that slave states outnumbered slave free states. As a result, this would lead to legislation that would favor slavery (Meed, 2002). Although some Native Americans, such as Indians, opposed the expansion of the west, American settlers defeated them. They could not withstand the movement of thousands of settlers because the army defeated them in a number of battles. They were also confined into reservations; the US president, Andrew Jackson, passed the Indian removal act, which encouraged coercive removal of

Compare and contrast Russo-Chechen wars to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Essay

Compare and contrast Russo-Chechen wars to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Discuss with special reference to theories of conflict - Essay Example A similar massacre of Azerbaijanis followed in the Armenian city of Spitak. The Armenian protests against Azerbaijan based on Nagorno-Karabakh actually started in the perestroika spirit, but it immediately turned out to be a political organisation called Karabakh Committee that stood for an extensive anticommunist coalition for national sovereignty and democracy. 1 Similarly, the war between Russia and Chechnya started with the ambition of the former to topple the latter’s president through military intervention. The military intervention turned out to be a complete warfare against the people of Chechnya through the invasion and brutal bombing of civil areas in an awkward attempt to bring down the Dudayev regime. The war also awoke the dormant fighting spirit of the Chechens which they had gained from their long martial tradition with roots from a century long, persistent warfare with the imperialist Russian empire in the nineteenth century. 2 The mounting loss on the Russian side provoked its generals to make a quick response to the Chechen resistance through indiscriminate artillery and aerial bombardment on Chechnya’s capital. The death toll of people in the city was huge and the city was levelled in every part in an attempt by Russia to subdue the Chechen defenders. 3 The conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous area to separate from Azerbaijan and merge with Armenia that started in 1988 was called illegal with reference to the Soviet Constitution of 1978 that allowed merger of a region to another nation only with the permission of the home republic. The conflict in Southern Ossetia since 1990 is a similar case where the autonomous region is a part of north eastern Georgia and the war was provoked by the national administration and supported by the imperialists in Moscow. The support from Moscow was to weaken Georgia. The Georgian-Abkhazian conflict has been the bloodiest of all wars in the region. Though there are differences in

African American Studies paper Essay Example for Free

African American Studies paper Essay The civil rights movement was a mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern states that came to a national eminence during the mid 1950’s. This movement can be said to be a â€Å"long time coming† for African slaves and their descendants to resist racial oppression, especially after the United States abolished slavery. Although, slaves were emancipated during the civil war were then granted basic civil rights through the passing of the 14th amendment and 15th amendment they still struggled and suffered trying to get â€Å"equality† for the next hundred years. Throughout the period of time in which African Americans fought for equality, desegregation and racism, the United States made massive changes. Beginning with the Jim Crow Laws, the countless court cases and the vast impact on the Civil Rights leaders during this time period of trying to gain â€Å"equality† there were two sides to this fight. One side was through the nonviolent protest while the other side was more of an active resistance. The modern period of the civil rights movement can ultimately be divided into several phases. Each act of a protest first started off small and ultimately became big. The Brown vs. Board of Education demonstrated that the process of taking legal action strategy of the NAACP could challenge the legal foundations of southern. This thought or strategy would only work if blacks came together instead of individually trying to conquer. Therefore during the 1950’s and 1960’s the NAACP sponsored legal suits and social movement seeking social changes accompanied legislative lobbying. The primary phase of the black protest began on Page 2 December 1, 1955 when a woman named Rosa Parks, of Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white bus rider. In the result of not giving her seat up she was defying a southern custom that required blacks to give seats toward the front of the buses to whites. Therefore by not giving up her seat she was then arrested and put in jail. When she was jailed a black community boycott of the city’s buses began. The boycott lasted more than a year, demonstrating the unity and determination of black residents. The well-known Martin Luther King, Jr. who was most famous for his â€Å"I have a dream† speech was the most active leader of this boycott. Although King and Parks were apart of the NAACP the Montgomery movement led to the creation in 1957 of a new organization called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King as the president. On February 1, 1960 four freshmen at North Carolina AT College began a wave of sit-ins designed to end segregation at southern diners. These protest resulted in the new organization called the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. August 28th though was the climax of the civil rights movement. That was the day blacks did the March on Washington Martin Luther King, Jr.gave his â€Å"I have a dream† speech. King with the help of many others helped bringing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the last major racial protest would be the Selma to Montgomery march. Soon after the march Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By the late 1960’s there was a growth of a new organization with more of a radical approach, the organization was called the Black Panther Party. During the late half of the 1960’s there were a series of â€Å"riots†. Page 3 Supporters of black liberation saw civil rights reforms as an insufficient method because they did not address the problems faced by millions of poor blacks. Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X influenced the Black Nationalism group. After the 1960’s civil rights movement blacks witnessed both group of leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. , assassinated. The mark these two men left behind did not fade away though. Despite the civil right’s gains of the 1960’s racial discrimination remained a significant factor in America. Even after President Johnson declared a war on poverty and Dr. King initiated a Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, the distribution of the nation’s wealth and income moved toward greater inequality during the 70’s and 80’s. Some advantages of the Civil Right’s Black Power movement was that ethnic minorities gained rights that should not have been denied to them on the basis of skin color. The common law did not provide satisfactory protection of basic human rights for the future of the community. The civil rights movement ensured that rights are protected and courts require a clear direction about what rights should be protected. The con about the civil rights movement was that the increase of litigation in the courts would give excessive power to the judiciary rights. Earlier in the essay I referenced the different movements but what I didn’t mention was that both groups took different strives to achieve their goals. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference took more of a non-violent approach to reach their goals according to the â€Å"Southern Christian Leadership Conference† website. While King and his group was more of a non-violent group, the Page 4. Black Nationalism and Malcolm X were more radical. Malcolm X had coined the phrase â€Å"by any means necessary† which meant he wanted to achieve equal rights at any length of sacrifice. Even though Malcolm X said, â€Å"by any means necessary† according to Dr. Stephanie L. McKinney he only used violence as a â€Å"self defense†. Martin Luther King Jr. on the other hand realized that nonviolent tactics was the way to go. Ultimately both leaders pursued the same goal and both achieved it. As you can see in the paragraphs above both Martin Luther King Jr.and Malcolm X had two different approaches to gain equality but I support Martin Luther King Jr. ways of gaining equality more than Malcolm X’s. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the few people who lived up to what he preached. Martin Luther King Jr. sold out to his cause, was passionate about his mission, and connected with the audience. Malcolm X’s radical movement was the reason why I couldn’t side with him. I respect Malcolm X but disagree with any view that encourages violence. King wanted change with his voice, which in my opinion is the strongest tool for someone, who doesn’t support violence. If you think about it physical punishment is dealt to one person and everyone else doesn’t necessarily feel the pain but words can be felt through everyone who’s listening. Just like many other movements and eras the Civil Rights Black Power movement started, climaxed, then faded. Although, this era influenced many generations that came later and many people still benefit from the efforts of the Civil Rights leaders such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X. Some former civil rights activists, such as John Lewis, Andrew Young, and Jesse Jackson, launched Page 5 careers in electoral politics. American civil rights legislation of the 1960s became the center for affirmative action programs that increased opportunities for many black students and workers as well as for women, disabled people, and other victims of discrimination. However, civil rights issues continued to stimulate protests, particularly when previous gains appeared to be threatened. Overall, the 20th-century struggle for civil rights produced an enduring transformation of the legal status of African Americans and other victims of discrimination. It also increased the responsibility of the government to enforce civil rights laws. APA Citations Page 54h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam. (n. d. ). Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam [ushistory. org]. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www. ushistory. org/us/54h. asp From Black Revolution to Radical Humanism: Malcolm X between Biography and International History. (n. d. ). Home. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www. humanityjournal. org/humanity-volume-3-issue-2/black-revolution-radical-humanism-malcolm-x-between-biography-and-internat. McKinney, S. (n. d. ). Malcolm X. About. com 20th Century History. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://history1900s. about. com/od/people/a/Malcolm-X. htm Nonviolent Resistance. (n. d. ). Nonviolent Resistance. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://mlk-kpp01. stanford. edu/index. php/encyclopedia/ Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (n. d. ). Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www. historylearningsite. co. uk/southern_christian_leadership_co. htm.

Starbucks International Entry Methods and its Global Marketing

Starbucks International Entry Methods and its Global Marketing Introduction In 1971, in Seattle’s Pike Place Market two teachers and a writer opened the first Starbucks retail shop, as a roaster and retailer of bean and ground coffee, tea and spices (Roos, 2010). Today, with over 20,000 stores across the world, from Monaco to Colombia and many in between, Starbucks is a name that stands for innovation beyond its industry and constant growth (Chen, 2014). From ethical sourcing initiatives to the employee stock options and health benefits, Starbucks is a unique company, in a continuous evolution across the world (Hincha-Ownby, 2013). The company is a global marketing phenomenon, reinventing its operations to suit their growth ambitions, but remaining true to the passion of serving coffee in a friendly atmosphere (Thompson Arsel, 2004). Starbucks has been a pioneer in the coffee house industry in many geographical regions, having virtually introduced this concept to various countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Otmazgin, 2008). In addition to this, the company is continuously reinventing itself in European countries where the coffee house culture is more sophisticated (Patterson, Scott, Uncles, 2010). It is mandatory to analyse their strategy for market entry mode selection, as their success suggests they have found the golden middle between adopting distinct tactics and allowing local influences to shape their product, whilst keeping their core business values intact. In addition to using secondary sources to analyse the global expansion of Starbucks, this paper also outlines how the global marketing strategy of the company compromises between standardisation and adaptation to local target audiences’ preferences (Alderman, 2012). From the product-price-place-promotion marketing mix adaptation tactics to the use of loyalty card that reward loyal customers and the encouragement to share Starbucks moments via social media, the company continuously seeks the view of their customers through crowd-sourcing and creating a sense of community (Misener, 2014). However, similarly to their entry mode selection, the coffee house giant manages to preserve their core values in all the regions where it operates. Entry mode of Starbucks Globalisation and technology as the two core macro environmental elements of the 21st century business settings have imposed and aided companies’ international expansion strategies and tactics (Daft, 2010). As such, success beyond the national borders of a corporation is not only an indicator of success, it has ultimately become necessary for survival in a competitive market (Zahra, Ireland, Hitt, 2000). Whether through Joint Ventures (JVs), Exports, Franchises, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), take overs or any other strategies, everyone, from SMEs to large corporations is jumping on the bandwagon of international expansion (Kim Hwang, 1992). However, beyond the need to expand internationally, companies need to carefully evaluate all factors influencing the decision regarding the area of expansion and the entry mode of the company in the new region. A timeline of the geographical evolution of Starbucks over the last decade (Figure 1) shows that the company aims to increase their global presence, becoming the coffee shop of choice of all the coffee aficionados (Starbucks, 2014). Figure 1 Geographical expansion of Starbucks. Authors own, adapted from Starbucks (2014) Root (1994) defines the entry mode as a strategic decision making process in which the company’s products, technology, human skills and all other resources are evaluated in relation to the country of destination where the organisation is planning to extend its operations. In addition to this, the characteristics of the market that a company intends to penetrate are also taken into account for the purpose of selecting the most suitable entry mode (Canabal White III, 2008). The capital and human investment of a corporation towards expansion in new geographical areas is ultimately decided in correlation with profitability potential for the organisation. The factors influencing the entry mode of a corporation in new markets were divided by Chen and Mujtaba (2007) into three categories: firm specific factors, country specific factors and market specific factors. Although their categorisation of factors is valid in the strategic management of internationalisation of firms, it can be argued that market specific factors can be integrated in the country specific factors and another category called industry specific factors can be added to the mix. Figure 2 below presents a new theoretical framework developed by the author of this paper, which presents the changes enumerated, underlining the importance of trends and particularities of the overall industry in which a company operates. Figure 2 Factors influencing Selection of Entry Mode. Authors own, inspired by Chen and Mujtaba (2007) Although not exhaustive, the list of elements presented above indicates the variety of elements involved in the selection of markets where Starbucks can extend its chain of stores and the best strategy to ensure success in the new region. According to Root (1994) and Koch (2001) the factors influencing the entry mode selection can also be divided into external and internal factors. Political, economic and socio cultural dimensions of a foreign country are crucial external elements that determine the profitability of marketing the products offered by a company (Koch, 2001). Starbucks is marketing a social product beyond its coffee offerings, having positioned itself in the industry as a company that offers a great environment where people can enjoy ethically sourced beverages and snacks (Schultz, 2011). As such, it is crucial to evaluate the socio-cultural environment of a target foreign country and the marketability of such an offering within that particular geographical area. The key to success lies within the ability to match the product offerings of a company with the demands of the local foreign market, without compromising the firm’s business model. Partnerships with local firms through a joint venture or penetrating the market through licensing or franchising offer a company low risk solutions (Yoshino Rangan, 1995). However, when Starbucks decides to licence or franchise their product offerings, the extent to which they can monitor the quality of the products or operations of coffee shops that trade under their company name is significantly lower than in the case of joint ventures or wholly-owned subsidiaries. Joint ventures are often necessary due to political reasons, as is the case with some Middle Eastern countries that demand part ownership of local companies or residents within a foreign business (Terblanche, 2009). In addition to this, sharing the risk and costs with a partner in a local region can be advantageous for the company that extends their operations in a foreign market, due to lower capital investments (Root, 1994). However, there are disadvantages to be taken into account when opting for a joint venture, as sharing the technology with a potential competitor in the industry can lead to a conflict of interests and a potential loss of competitive advantage (Doz Hamel, 1998). Although wholly-owned subsidiaries eliminate the risks associated with all other entry modes, offering exclusivity over the profits and technology control, a company runs the risk of misunderstanding the cultural aspects of the country of destination and decreases its chances of succeeding in a new market (Makino Delios, 1996). Successful companies, such as Starbucks, are able to determine the best mix of entry modes specific to the regions where the expansion is taking place in order to become global leaders. The table below (Figure 3) shows that the company’s internationalisation strategy allows flexibility depending on country specific factors in the countries of destination. Figure 3 Starbucks Entry Mode Type and Partners in each region. Authors own, adapted from Starbucks (2014) In May 1998, Starbucks expanded its operations into the first European country, the UK, as part of a long-term internationalisation strategy (Bintliff, 2009). The company acquired sixty-five Seattle Coffee Company stores, a company founded and managed by two Americans (Scott and Ally Svenson) with a similar coffee culture as the American giant Starbucks (Simmons, 2012). The cultural gap between the US and UK attitude to coffee shops and the resistance of British consumers to American products was taken into account by Starbucks, who waited one year before they completely rebranded the existing Seattle Coffee Company stores, therefore allowing the consumers to adapt to the concept and products of Starbucks prior to the rebranding. At present, Starbucks has 549 company operated stores in the UK, with an additional 125 licensed and 57 franchised stores across the country, making it one of the industry leaders in the country (Campbell, 2014). In October 1998, Starbucks extended its operations in New Zealand, through licensing its store concept to Restaurant Brands New Zealand, an authorised licensee of KFC and Pizza Hut brands at the time (Morrison, 2013). Due to its enthusiasm of bringing the Starbucks experience to consumers in the country, Restaurant Brands New Zealand was the ideal partner for Starbucks in positioning itself in the Asia Pacific market in an incipient stage of the coffee industry in this geographical region. The relatively low popularity of the coffee shop industry at the time in the region was a risk that could have deterred the success of a wholly owned market entry (Field, 2011). The leading position and market knowledge of the partner firm that Starbucks licensed its store concept to ensured the minimal risk and lead to the success that the brand is enjoying in New Zealand presently, operating 22 stores in the country, with a $25.1 million sales annually (Morrison, 2013). Global Marketing Strategy Although globalisation has allowed large multinationals to expand across the globe increasing their popularity and profits, this phenomenon has been widely criticised and Starbucks was also the victim of anti-consumerism and anti-globalisation movements (Klein, 2009). The growth experience by the company and its current world dominance has generated many negative discourses, primarily criticising Starbucks’ ascendancy at the expense of local coffee shops. As a multinational brand that aspires to be a recognised global leader, Starbucks’ marketing strategy requires a degree of standardisation. To start with, the company hardly advertises in the traditional sense via TV, radio and print adverts, â€Å"instead relying on their ubiquitous cafà ©s to do the talking† (Kiley, 2006, p. 56). In addition to this, the company has developed and perfected their social media marketing strategy, using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and other platforms for competitions and promotional offers for their customers (Moth, 2013). It can be argued that Starbucks’ success in the social media sphere is also highly dependent on the anti-Starbucks movement, as this generates increased coverage of the brand name, allowing the company to counteract the accusations and promote their ethical behaviour even more (Holden, 2012). The involvement of consumers in product development and range (i.e.: new drink flavours) as well as the encouragements to share personal experiences are now an integral part of Starbucks’ international marketing strategy (Shayon, 2013). The company often prides itself on the fact that it creates a community sense amongst individuals from distinct countries through the recognisable brand name Starbucks (Batchelor Krister, 2012). The company uses social media to encourage its consumers to create a sense of belonging to a community and rewards its loyal customers through My Starbucks Reward, using polls to ensure a maximum potential of crowd sourcing (Schoultz, 2013). Through this, the company demonstrates loyalty on its own part to its customers, focusing on transforming their consumers in brand ambassadors, rather than investing time and large budget shares in aggressive marketing tactics aimed at accumulating large shares of new consumers. Levitt (1983) sustains that standardisation of a marketing programme needs to have a positive impact on the performance of the organisation. Being able to maintain a consistency across the marketing strategy and tactics in operations that span across the globe can have a positive impact on a company’s financial performance, as the budget for developing the marketing program is significantly lower (Samiee Roth, 1992). However, the cultural differences between different geographical markets make it difficult to distinguish the profitability and impact on performance of standardised marketing plans (Porter, 2011). Studies suggest that, irrespective of general traits of global marketing for brand recognition purposes, multinational corporations need to take into account any cultural aspects of the countries where their subsidiaries are. As such, Starbucks adapts their food and beverage offerings in their cafà ©s in order to suit their customers’ taste (Bussing-Burks, 2009). Below (Figure 4) is a list of products that are exclusively available in specific geographical areas as evidence of adaptation tactics used by the company. Figure 4 Country Specific products. Adapted from Misener (2014) In China, Starbucks has adapted their product offerings in order to be able to introduce the coffee shops in a market which was loyal to a long-lasting tradition of tea. Despite the concerns expressed by many in regards to the potential success of an American coffee-house chain in a country where other multinational food and beverage brands like Dunkin Donuts and Burger King have failed, Starbucks opened 500 stores across China (Fellner, 2008). The company licensed its brand name to Mei Da Coffee Co. and entered a JV with Shanghai President Coffee Co. (Figure 3). Instead of trying to force the products that appealed to Americans and made the company successful in their mother land, Starbucks launched green-tea flavoured coffee drinks and relied less on takeaway orders due to their lack of popularity in China (Rein, 2012). More importantly, through charging premium prices for their beverages, instead of adopting the general strategy of under-pricing their products in the Asian market, Starbucks cups have become a status symbol in the urban areas of Beijing and Shanghai (Schiavenza, 2013). Unlike many of its competitors, Starbucks prefers investing the money that companies spend on advertising into the benefits and training of their staff members (Kessler, 2012). In line with this philosophy, the company became one of the very few to extend their full health policy to their part-time workers (Schultz Yang, 1997). This philosophy applies even in their overseas stores, and employees in China reported a high level of satisfaction with their job benefits, indicating that this is one of the core values of the company and even through licensing and JV, Starbucks ensures that the contentment of all employees under the Starbucks brand name is indistinguishable across the globe (Rein, 2012). The Chairman of the company, Howard Schulz, believes that the training and satisfaction levels of the Starbucks baristas represent one of the best marketing tactics. He discovered that the attitude and skills of Italian baristas in coffee shops from Rome is what created the atmosphere within a cafà © (Bussing-Burks, 2009). In addition to this, the leadership team that sits in the head offices of Starbucks have a weekly exercise of reading consumers’ feedback, keeping them in touch with the realities of the consumer experience, not allowing them to lose sight of the end user of the services and products of Starbucks (Gulati, Huffman, Neilson, 2002). Although Starbucks has ventured into markets where the coffee culture was in its incipient stages, like countries in the Asia-Pacific area, the most difficult task that the company has had to date is strengthening its market position in nations with a strong coffeehouse culture, like France or the UK (Rudarakanchana, 2013). Their marketing strategies require more creativity in these geographical areas, particularly because Starbucks is up against well established coffee houses that offer a more unique and tailored cultural experience to its customers. However, the company is not oblivious to this issue and Starbucks inaugurated a coffee shop in Amsterdam in 2012 with an avant-garde architecture and a stage for poetry reading (Alderman, 2012). Howard Schultz is planning on expanding the plans for introducing more concept stores across Europe, in order to increase the appeal of the coffee house for consumers beyond the young hip customer, who sees Starbucks as a product that stands for the American lifestyle. Conclusions The company that reinvented the way in which people enjoy their traditional cup of coffee, Starbucks has conquered the globe in less than half a century, since the first store opened. The pace of growth and geographical reach of Starbucks is an undeniable reality that has sparked debates over the past decades. Most of the elements that have contributed to this successful expansion and brand recognition can be associated with the entry mode selection, the marketing mix adaptability and promotional strategies used by the company. Starting with the successful collaborations with local companies in the countries of destination through JVs or licensing through to the slight alterations made to the menu to suit the taste of local consumers, the company displays an exquisite cultural awareness. American giants in the food and beverage industry like Dunkin Donuts or Burger King have attempted to penetrate Asian markets preserving their business model and menu offerings. They encountered resistance from the local consumers, as their culinary and beverage preferences were not met by the menu of the American companies. Whilst it is understandable that MNCs desire to preserve their business model and should avoid making big compromises for each geographical region where they extend, as this would incur additional operational costs for product development and marketing, organisations need to demonstrate a willingness to take into account the culture of the host country. Starbucks’ main philosophy revolves around the atmosphere they can create in their coffee shops and the manner in which the company values its employees, rather than their product offerings, therefore allowing the organisation to expand, adapt and yet, stay true to their core values. Carefully selecting its international partners whose values match the Starbucks passion for great customer focused services, Starbucks seeks the necessary help from well-established local retailers. 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