Customs and culture around the globe are an integral part of a society and no matter how hard you try, you cannot put everyone on a same pedestal and this is the main reason behind every country’s political, social and economical reforms. There are around 195 UN recognised countries in the world and each country has its own identity and linguistic differences, that defines its people. Culture has also played a significant role in defining a country’s business and management policies while equally laying stress in development and maintaining cross-border relations.

The Germans who are highly regarded for their precision, are best in terms of automobile industry and weapons. In fact, they are the ones who own, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and countless number of luxury brands. When I watched a documentary named ‘Make me a German’, I came to understand how they work. And honestly, I don’t even fit there. With a 357,386 sq km, the the country is the largest economy in the Europe and is best in terms of industrial and scientific and technological sectors. On an average, people work around 40 hours a week, but the thing which surprised is that they deliver more within a stipulated time. Interestingly, their society also tries to keep a balance between work and other personal things by planning out well in advance. Moreover, Germans believe in saving for future purposes, that’s why people don’t run bankrupt unlike other countries which is still grappling with this menace. Henri Fayol’s second principle “Balancing Authority and Responsibility goes very well with them. Apart from Germans, I was shocked to find Israeli city of Tel Aviv, in top 10 startup cities in the world. The documentary ‘Holy Land: Startup Nations’, gives insights about entrepreneurs who doing creative things to tackle the problems faced by common people. Though involved in conflict, but the beauty about them is that, they turn every crisis into opportunity, which keeps them stand out from the crowd. Back in January this year Israeli technology and innovation companies presented solutions in the fields of tourism, MedTech and distance learning to European government officials and investors which itself defines the capability of such a small nation. In fact, when you study the history of Jews, they have been very associated in the field of finance, which keeps them apart from other people. Fayol’s Unity of Direction Completely fits the identity of their culture. Whenever, anyone wants to know the true meaning of entrepreneurship automatically America or US strikes in everyone had. In fact, San Francisco and New York are the major hubs of startups in the world. With world’s largest economy in the world, the country has a very open economy which is capitalistic in nature. In fact, people belonging to various cultures live in this country. Google, Microsoft and Apple are some of the example which sheds light on the success it is enjoying. Moreover, the people living there like to do things independently.

So, in a way every culture teaches us something, that’s we as people should take away good things from every culture and implementing it in our life.

1.Role of Media in reporting international conflicts

2. Role of Media in reporting conflicts in India

1. Role of Media in reporting international conflicts

According to Indian constitution, Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and if used properly it reflects  the action which the human beings do. But if misused the whole generation have the potential to get brainwashed. What an irony, isn’t ?. I have observed that, things which have immense potential and are of value to society are also the things which have the ability to set us apart, if misused. And Media is one among them. Every year, we come across d press freedom of different countries around the world and when we observe carefully, countries which have a lower ranking are the countries that are infested with problems like terrorism, corruption, insurgency, military occupany and many other things. Some countries which are involved in conflicts rank much more lower in the index. For eg if we check the press ranking index of Palestine, it ranks 137 out of 180 countries. Similarly Russia, which is involved in border conflict with Ukraine has dismal ranking 149. When I saw the documentary about Israel Palestine conflict, I came to know how media fools the public in the the name of TRP. In fact, media has shaped the opinion. In the case of this conflict. I saw politicians, corporates and diplomats, governments misuse and exploit these institutions. Moreover, if these institutions lose their reliability then it seems impossible to come where you were. During Israel’s occupations we say how Israel bought US media to their side. In fact, Palestine who was helpless couldn’t do anything. At that reputed media portals like, New York Times, CNN were literally sold out. In fact, media added more fuel to the fire by making the news pro- isralian. We live in a world where human beings are harming human beings and when it comes to harming religion has been used in a very toxic manner, where people have changed interpretations according to their conveniences. In case of Nigeria and other terror struck countries terror groups like Al queda and Al Shabab have destroyed the religion like anything . They always use the religion of Islam and their texts to their advantage due to which people are getting brainwashed. But needless to say there have been cases where conflicts have been reported in unbiased manner. For eg in the case of BBC, it reported the Israel- Palestine conflict in the the way it should be reported. And because of this reason there are people who have perfect knowledge about al the things and thankfully some fact check news portals which hare there today are doing some tremendous work today.

Ultimately the onus is upon us. Whether to do it in right or the wrong manner. Sadly most people choose the wrong thing but they realise this only when more fuel is added to the fire. Therefore it should be our responsibility to choose the right path.

The Indian Media

According to Indian constitution, Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and if used properly it reflects  the action which the human beings do. But sadly today’s India ranks 142 out of 180 countries in press freedom index moreover the standard is going below par. And nowadays it has become the left Vs The Right . But nobody realizes the need to be unbiased in nature. If we see the role of Indian media in conflict reporting many things have been reported correctly but here are many conflicts which don’t receive proper attention. In the case of Pakistan, the whole media has throughout has fed us things. Some are lies and some are truths. Many media portals have covered the Pakistan issue and have reported the things which we should now . even in case of Kargil war NDTV reported about the Kargil War correctly. I remember Barkha dutt’s reporting from the kargil range. We all know know umpteen things about Pakistan as it is a hot topic. But Indian media has desperately failed to report northeast conflict which is saddening in itself. Due to this reason also north east Indian people feels left out from the whole community. I haven’t heard any media report which talks about insurgency in the region. But hey always talk about Kashmir. In short , I want to conclude by saying that these issues should be resolved quickly as soon as possible.

Therefore everyone should play an active role in making the media credible. otherwise press freedom will keep falling one after the other and I don’t want to see the country’s future going down like that

Ghanaian politician and revolutionary Kwane Nkrumah once said “I am not an African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me”. These lines are enough to describe what whole world thinks and perceives about Africa. Africa in a nutshell is continent of 54 countries with multi ethnic tribes, but we as human beings have never described any of the African countries as individual countries just like we describe America, England, Saudi Arabia or India. We describe the continent’s people as Africans due to many similarities in their culture and beliefs. In fact, most of the indigenous groups are tribes who black skinned and maybe because of this reason we don’t recognise African countries individually. But if we look and understand the ground reality each tribe is very different in their cultural beliefs. Today Africa is gifted with many natural resources and young population. More the half of the population of Africa is below 25 years of age and because of this reason growth prospects are exponentially very high. The continent has the largest reserves of precious metals with over 40% of the gold reserves, over 60% of the cobalt, and 90% of the platinum reserves. But even having so many resources the continent is threatened by poverty, hunger and terrorism. Many people even describe it as a Dark Continent. Many don’t even pay attention to these countries. In fact 240 million Africans suffer from chronic undernourishment. Considering these figures having a good future still raises doubts and questions in or mind.

The history about their doubtful future began in 1800s when European powers colonised the resource rich African countries. The British colonized Africa in about 1870. When they heard of all of Africa’s valuable resources such as gold, ivory, salt and more, they did not hesitate on conquering the land. They wanted these resources because they needed them for manufacturing. Another resource in Africa was rubber which was very helpful and used in making many good-selling items like shoes. They ruled the present day Sudan, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho, Egypt, Northern Somalia, Eastern Ghana, Benin ,Gambia and Niger. Many of the Africans were even traded to other countries for a price– what we today call it as slavery. Apart from Britishers many European powers like France, Germany, Italy, Portugal went and colonised almost all the countries in Africa for different purposes. But amidst all, its the natives of Africa who had to bear the brunt of all. Moreover the poorest country in the world belongs to Africa (Somalia). In addition, when we check the current status of people who are living there, the colonisers have left the people to fend for themselves. In fact, most of the African countries don’t eveb have proper manpower to t o run their country. Reportedly, the literacy rate of the continent is just 70% far behind all the continents. Surprisingly, if we check the latest and the current scenario, China and Africa have been partnering on investments for approximately the last eleven years. In September 2018, delegates from both landmasses met at the seventh Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The collaboration and cooperation makes Africa one of China’s greatest allies in the current Cooperation. The collaboration and cooperation makes Africa one of China’s greatest allies in the current global market environment The level of China’s investment in the continent of Africa has been increasing at a steady rate. At the 2018 China-Africa Cooperation Forum, China announced it would be providing 60 billion dollars in financial support to Africa. However, if we check the latest facts African countries in capable of paying their debts. Moreover, most of the people in the continent are unemployed and poor so how can a country earn money and due to this reason many countries are falling into debt traap. Many countries like Nigeria, Somalia, Chad are now facing the problem of terrorism. the problem has increased at an exponential level.

So in order to solve these issues somehow an organised and proper governments and of course United Nations must come together and solve the problems. Global superpowers like US, UK, Russia, France and many countries could collaberate and work together to bring an institutional framework in the continent. The united in the past has helped the continent to fight against injustices but still more work needs to be done. In my opinion basic facilities like health and nutrition and sanitation should be given special attention. I hope one day Africa will becomes a superpower one day

The late 20th century and the current 21st century has played an important role in every country’s life. Now every country is focusing towards developing their own economy by becoming self reliant. India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat is an initiative which eyes make India a reliant country in every sphere. Apart from this, many countries in the world are focusing on encouraging their economy to adopt a capitalist mindset, as capitalism promotes inflow and distribution of cash at every income level, however it doesn’t ensure equitable distribution of wealth. In fact, reports have suggested that income inequality have surged over the period of last 50 years, which saw huge industrialization. One more striking point of this rapid phase of industrialization is that, it has destroyed the environment, in fact, it has depleted the natural resources around the world and still nobody is thinking about it. In fact, many people don’t even know what environment is all about. Even the mainstream media is unwilling to put up such content. The national dailies don’t even dedicate columns for this category. According to a report published by VladisChern/Shutterstock.com the Earth’s average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. This might seem like a very small change, this small change affects the ecological system of our planet. In fact, scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. The polar ice caps and glaciers have started melting at a very alarming level. The world only has 3 % of fresh water currently and most of the water resources are in a depleting stage. However, many Climate Change summits have taken place around the world which have aimed to make Earth a better planet. It has also focused on bring down the carbon footprints. Similarly India has also taken many steps in tackling climate change. For instance the government in 2008 launched National Action Plan on Climate Change . It aimed to identify measures that simultaneously advance country’s development in fighting cimate change. Another instrumental mission known as Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission aimed to make India a global solar power in the history. Until now India has installed 8.42 million sq. metres of solar thermal collectors. Even in terms of water conservation India launched National Water Mission to minimise wastage and ensure equitable distribution of this natural resource. Around 190 crores were allocated in budgets sessions from 2012-2017 for this plan. Due to implementation 1082 ground water morning wells were created. In addition to promote the idea of sustainable agriculture National Mission for sustainable agriculture was found to transform agriculture into an ecologically sustainable climate resilient production system. It eyed to adopt an area based approach development and conservation of natural resources. Due to implementation of this scheme india 5.4 million metric tonnes of agricultural storage capacity. In addition, it developed 11000 hectares of degraded land.

But even after the implementation of all such schemes India fares poorly in protecting it’s natural resources. Reports, suggest that ground water is in a state of depletion . In fact, in world’s top 10 polluted cities India has 6 cities namely Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida ,Gurgaon, Gtreater Noida and Bandhwari which is not a good sign. The population is also increasing at an alarming level which can only be stopped if population control measures are taken seriously. India’s water bodies are also polluting at an alarming level . Ganga action plan has worked a bit to improve the situation but still a lot needs to be done. Ultimately, the onus is on us to protect our beloved planet earth. So human beings should take utmost responsibilities in making the environment much more cleaner.

The finance ministry is not keen on bearing the pension liabilities of the railways for the current fiscal year, as it reminded the national carrier of its autonomy.

The railways lost a substantial proportion of its revenue from freight and passenger traffic due to coronavirus pandemic, which prompted the national transporter to approach finance ministry to meet its shortfall.

“You cannot have both things — autonomy and shifting of pension liability to us. Everything comes in package,” a key finance ministry official said.

A source close to the finance ministry said that the railways should re-prioritise its projects and rationalise freight to meet the shortfall.

For fiscal year 2020-21, pension liabilities increased to RS 1.46 trillion for railways of which RS 92,993 crore accounted for staff cost and the remaining RS 53,000 crore accounted for pension bill.

During the first six months of FY 2020-21 the revenue from freight, passenger traffic and sundry segments dipped to RS 53,725 crore which was 39% or 34,257 crore less than previous year.

The railways is the only government department in India which meets pension expenditure from a pension fund which was introduced on 2003.

Creativity doesn’t have any definition, it’s a skill which which can only be perfected when a person has knowledge. And, when a knowledge is gained, wonders are bound to happen. Imagine what would have happened to the world, if creativity didn’t exist ? We wouldn’t have witnessed the inventions which made our life easier. To keep this human civilisation moving forward there have been many inventions which has made our life easy and comfortable, and among them E-commerce has played a Significant role in transforming our life. Gone are the days when we used to spend hours in a market but the with advent of E-commerce platforms transactions have become easy for us. In 2019, retail E-commerce  sales worldwide amounted to 3.53 trillion US dollars and E- commerce  revenues are projected to grow to 6.54 trillion US dollars in 2022. Big fishes like Amazon, Flipkart and Alibaba have changed the rules of the game. Now, the consumer has plenty of options to choose from.

With the advent of E-commerce platforms, life has become much more advanced. It not only saves our time but also reduces our workload. People especially the millennials are more engaged in their work than any other thing. Employees who work in multinational companies are always on a deadline. Likewise for many other reasons, E-commerce has benefitted a lot. Apart from these things E- commerce has played a crucial role in transforming our social life in both positive as well as negative manner. From the positive side the products available in these are platforms are generally cheaper. You can choose a product of your liking according to your need. Apart from this they also offer multiple payment options like cash on delivery, bank transfer etc, which has drawn more customers. From a negative side transparency has been an issue. The consumers aren’t fully aware about the seller with which they are dealing. There are chances that the product which you are getting are of cheap quality, since your presence is not there. Privacy has been an issue among people which is debatable.

Looking at all the the aspects E-commerce platforms have played an immense role in transforming our life, now it’s our responsibility to use it in proper way.

Pros

1 Affordable- The products which are available on E- commerce platforms are usually cheap and affordable. Is is usually lesser than the price which is available in the market.

2 Variety- The products available on E- commerce platforms have a huge variety with different range of prices, which compels a buyer to purchase whenever he needs. It targets different sets of consumers according to their needs.

3 Time saver- Gone are the days when we all used to spent hours in the market but, with the advent of E-commerce platforms purchasing of goods and services have become easy and convenient which ultimately saves our time. Today, you just have to go to their official websites or app, to book your products, which happens in a matter of seconds.

4 Multiple payment options – E- commerce platforms are blessed with multiple payment options like cash on delivery, direct bank transfer etc.

5 24 X 7- Unlike open market, E-commerce platforms are open 24 X7, which allows a user to purchase anytime.

Cons

1 Transparency- Though E- commerce have made our life easy but it is not completely transparent. Consumers are not given full details regarding the seller of products.

2 Not the exact product- One day my Mom ordered a beautiful looking saree from Flipkart. But, when it reached us it wasn’t the same Saree anymore. It’s quality was poor. But when we saw through the website it looked fine.

3 Shipping charges- Many products which I have order online take commissions and shipping charges which is undesirable.

4 lack of bargaining power- Unlike open market a consumer cannot bargain for the products which he is going to purchase. This can create problems for the consumers.

5 Lack of privacy- Millions of people use E-commerce platforms through which they can misuse people’s data. Though companies deny this thing but still they can access consumer’s private data.

Products for which I paid more and was happy with its features

1 Boat Bassheads 122- I bought this earphone for Rs 499, and I am happy with its features. You can clearly hear when someone is talking to you. It also has mike, which enables the user to speak.

2 Woodland shoe – I know it’s a bit expensive but to be honest, no brand can match the quality of shoe it manufactures. You can use it in toughest of the conditions.

3 Fossil watches- Believe it or not, no company can make watches like Fossil. You cannot find this type of quality in any other watch.

Products for which I paid more and got the same benefits

1 Cream Coffee( Indian Coffee House)- They offer two variants of coffee. Plain coffee costs RS 18 And Cream coffee costs RS 30. I once went there and ordered cream coffee as I got bored with Plain coffee. Believe it or not the cream coffee tasted exactly the same as the plain one.

2 Khadims- I got tired of wearing Bata shoes so that’s why I decide to buy shoes of Khadims, which were a bit expensive. There wasn’t any difference between the two as I was only able to use it for 1 year.

3 Reynolds Jetter- I usually write with those ball-point pens which costs RS 10. But, one day Just for a change I purchased Reynolds Jetter for RS 25. Believe it or not there wasn’t any difference in it. It was just like any other ball-point pen.

Products for which I paid more and got less benefits than your previous product

1 McDonald’s Chicken Maharaja burger- I am not a fan of this brand but I have tried their Mc aloo tiki burger, Mc chicken burger which costs around 80 to 100 Rs but one day I decided to buy Chicken Maharaja burger for a change, it costed around 200 or 220. It turned out really bad and was overpriced.

2 Old Spice- I usually wear Park avenue Deodorant as its fragrance stays for long. But, one day I decided to buy Old Spice for a change which was costlier than Park Avenue. But the results were shocking, Old Spice’s fragrance did not even last for 30 minutes.

3 Redmi Note 3- In 2016 My bought Redmi Note 3 and surprisingly It did not turn out to be good. She used Galaxy S3 which got outdated. Redmi Note 3 had many issues like It used to overheated whenever a charger was plugged in.

If we compare ancient history, Middle ages and Modern history, the behaviour of people have always changed along with the passage of time. People became more aware and knowledgeable over the years and due to this the style, fashion and fads have also changes in society. For eg the attire which was worn in 1940s will not be worn in the 21st century because things are getting obsolete after the passage of time. In fact, it has become necessary for business organisations to keep track of the changing trends, then only it will be able to perform well.

To dig deeper into the matter of changing trends we should first give importance to style. Style’s meaning is not only limited to the new things arriving in the market, it  is a basic and distinctive mode of expression. In a a market styles comes, goes and comes back in the market. A style may last for generations, but usually passes in and out of vogue. For eg the sports shoes with different designs which are released during a peak sporting events is a form of style adopted by companies. It has also become necessary for business organisations to understand this behaviour. Apart from style, stress should also be laid on Fashion. Fashion is one of the important facet of product life cycle. In a nutshell A  fashion is a currently popular or accepted style in a certain field. In fact, it has evolved every section of the society. For eg, the smartphones we use today has a touch and tap feature, which is fashion today. Nobody owns a keypad phone. And last but not the least, the third facet ‘fad’ has played an important role in defining a consumer’s behaviour.   Fads are temporary periods of unusually high sales driven by consumer enthusiasm and immediate product or brand popularity. A fad may be part of an otherwise normal product life cycle, passing through the product life cycle stages. But at a certain point, sales raise unexpectedly, but drop afterwards equally quickly. For eg the sale of masks have increased due coronavirus pandemic. The demand for masks were never there before.

So in a nutshell, changes are bound to happen in future and we all should be prepared for it.

PLC model

1 Introduction

A Cadbury Bourneville

There are umpteen number of things which arrive in the market everyday. Each brand tries to lure the consumers by portraying it as best. A huge amount of money is involved in marketing and advertising so that a brand’s name gets registered inside consumer’s head. I remember when I was studying in 4th grade, Cadbury launched it’s premium variant ‘Bourneville’, which was a huge hit at that time. It even boasted of its quality— rich in cocoa. It even had an advertisement which said, ” You just don’t buy a Bourneville, you earn it.” Even I got fascinated by the visuals shown in the ad. At that time one bar of Bourneville costed 80 Rs, which was expensive. But even after being expensive my friends tried it and shared their experience with me and after this moment I made it a wish to try Bourneville someday. I remember forcing my parents to buy Bourneville, but they refused by stating it as expensive. But, after some arguments and obstination, I made them to buy. It was indeed very delicious and I really felt like I have earned it.

B Reynolds Trimax

Normally kids are taught to write with pencils before they could use a pen. But usually pencils are not that much attractive if compared to pens as they don’t look stylish or classy. I am sure many among us must have got fascinated with pens at some or the other point in life. I remember when was in 4th grade, we were allowed to write with pens. I got fascinated with many brands like Add Gel, Reynolds, Parker because of their quality. In school, I used to compare my pens with friend’s as we all were fascinated with the idea of pen. In 2009, Reynolds launched its premium variant ‘Trimax’ , which was a huge hit among consumers. At that time it costed 35 rs/ pen, and everybody in our owned. Reynolds even made an advertisement, where Sachin Tendulakar acted.

Growth

1 Suzuki Access 125

Indian market is divided among rich, middle-class, and poor. The products available here are divided on the range of prices which targets different sections of consumers. Suzuki Access was launched in India in 2007 and over the years it has done well in the two-wheeler industry. Usually you will find this scooter who belong to middle- class section. We purchased Access 125 in 2010, which was at that in its growing stage. It captured a substantial proportion in the 2- wheeler market. Its popularity also increased due its marketing. It still continues to be in competition with its rivals like Activa, Maestro etc. Over the years many upgradations were brought in their models to make it consumer- friendly.

2 Nokia 1600

There was a time when Nokia used to rule the cellphone market in the world. In 2006 it enjoyed 60 % of mobile market in India. And at that time Nokia unveiled its Nokia 1600 mode, which was a bit hit at that time. My father bought this phone in 2007, and used it for many years. It gave fierce competition to its rivals like Samsung, Motorolla, Lava etc. Nokia 1600 was priced at Rs 981, which was expensive at that time.

Maturity

1 Coca-Cola

Nobody in India can forget about this iconic soft drink. Coco cola is one of the most sought after soft drinks in India. And since its launch in India, it has captured 60% share in the carbonated soft drinks segment. In 1950, Coca-Cola marked it entry in India with the opening of the first bottling plant by Pure Drinks, Ltd, in New Delhi. The company exited the country in 1977, due to the implementation of India’s Foreign Exchange Act. Towards the end of 1992, Coca-Cola returned to India after the opening up of the Indian economy to foreign investments in 1991. It faces serious competitions from rivals like Pepsi, thumbs-up but coco cola is majorly preferred among people. Its tagline “thanda matlab coke” was very catchy and helped it to increase its market share. Over the years it launched its new variant ‘diet coke’ which worked well with the audience. In 2020, Coca-Cola’s brand was valued at 84 billion U.S dollars.

2 Google

Google has reached such a stage where it doesn’t have any competitor. In fact, it is a brand in itself which doesn’t need any introduction. Today the world dances to the tunes of Google. Founded in 1998 as a search engine, it has grown to be one of the widely used search engine in the world. It is now valued at  $632 billion dollars. Apart from being a search engine it also acquired Youtube for 1.65 billion U.S dollars in 2006 and since then its net worth increased to 160 billion U.S dollars.

Decline

1 Tata Nano

Tata Nano was a compact car which was launched by Tata Motors in 2009. It was touted as the world’s cheapest car. When it came to the market it did very well among consumers. The car was meant for those people, who had budget some constraints. It sold 74,527 units after three years of its launch. But later its sales declined and in FY 2017-18 only 1502 units were sold from April 2019 it was discontinued. The main reasons of its decline was concerned with its poor quality. Though the price was less but sill it did not offer required features to the users.

2 lumia

In 2013 Lumia models were very popular for its sassy looks along with its quality of camera. It was also available in different colours; making it more attractive among people. It was previously marketed by Nokia but in 2013 Microsoft announced its purchase of Nokia’s mobile device business. As part of the transition, Microsoft continued to use the Nokia brand on Lumia devices until October 2014, when it began to officially phase out the Nokia name in its promotion and production of smartphones in favor of Microsoft branding. It launched various models in Lumia series like Lumia 535, Lumia 950 etc but these phones did not go well with the people. At the same time Samsung and other smartphone companies offered more features at affordable prices which was a major blow to Lumia series. In October 2017, Microsoft’s corporate vice president confirmed that Microsoft would no longer sell or manufacture new Windows 10 Mobile devices.