Communication Strategies

The specific goals in an organization are greatly strengthened by leaders with the use of power. Leadership is therefore involved with influencing people in an organization to do what they hesitate to do and want to do, in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of a company (Yammarino, 2009). Therefore, proper use of power can have a positive outcome on an organizations performance as well as on the lives of the workers, hence making the company more competitive.

The five Basis of power demonstrated in an Organization
Legitimate power This is the acquiring of leadership position power, which happens when the leader influences the structure of the job in way involving the use of rules and regulations, which are stipulated by the management (Yammarino, 2009). Legitimate power can be demonstrated in a scenario where a leader stating in his rule that it is mandatory for a marketer to work for 40 hours a week and for an accountant to work for 4 days in a week.

Reward Power In this base of power, a reward is used in order to enhance compliance to the rules of organizations(Yammarino, 2009).This is done by giving workers more benefits, valued rewards or increased pay. An example is in a scenario where the marketing manager encourages employees to work beyond the requisite 40 hours a week by reminding them of their yearly bonus for receiving a superior rating on their next evaluation.

Expert Power This kind of power is based on the knowledge level of the leader in relation to the knowledge and experience level of the workers (Yammarino, 2009). An example can be based on a scenario where a marketer has worked in the marketing department a long period and has an experience of 12 years.

Referent Power This is power due to a strong relationship with the subordinates, which is based on the leader attractive personality such as charisma and interpersonal skills resulting to sense of personal satisfaction (Yammarino, 2009). This power shows that an ideal communication strategy in an organization is based on relational communication therefore leaders can use personal appeal to influence others members while faced with difficult situations. This can be demonstrated in a scenario is where a leader has just worked for little over a year, whereas most employees in the sales department have been with the company for three years or more. The leader has influenced others employees by being very charismatic and positive, hence making people seem to be naturally drawn to his personality.

Coercive Power This is power based on involvement of reciprocity or bargaining power. (Yammarino, 2009). An example of this is found in a scenario where a marketer who has worked in the marketing department receives a payment based on performance evaluation.

Relationship between Bases of Power and Dependency 
 Proper transformation of power is necessary in an organization as this enables achievement of the desired results. Bases of power come from capacity that brings in resources that can be distributed as rewards or information to others (Yammarino, 2009).Therefore, people are more responsive to the people who look like they can get more from an organization. Hence, there is a tendency of complying with wishes of another, as this results to creating dependency.

The power dependence is proportional to the work done by each member of the organization. The work done must be measured and controlled, and the leader must desire the output. The dependence of the work is determined by the output of the job, and controlled by being in the right place at right time, and getting a favorable bonus or pay rise. An example from a scenario where the marketing manager encourages employees to work beyond the requisite 40 hours a week by reminding them of the yearly bonus for receiving a superior rating on their next evaluation.

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans and motivating people (Jim Collins. Good to Great. 2001). Organization leaders practice several leadership styles.  Some of these styles are based on leaders behaviors, decisions making etc.  Some of the styles fit very well in specific organization e.g. in a firm where rules and regulations need to be followed strictly. A compromise of the laid down procedures may lead to a big loss to the organization or organization to be faced out of business. The best style to be practice in this scenario can be autocratic leadership style.  

Executive A
Executive A practices level 5 style of leadership, in this kind of leadership leaders transform the organization from low states to greater height.  From the context of Executive A, an Executive A became CEO several years ago, the company was losing more than two million dollars a year, and its stock had plummeted to 23 a share. During Executive As tenure the stock has risen 128, and the company posted a profit during the second quarter after Executive A became CEO. Level 5 leaders are termed as timid and ferocious, shy and fearless, modest, with fierce, unwavering commitments to high standard.  The above mentioned characters of leaders in level 5 leadership style are revealed vividly in Executive A leadership style.  For instance, the media has been quoted saying that Executive A is the person behind corporations success.

Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. Its not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious - but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves. - Jim Collins. Good to Great. 2001.
 Executive A shies away from the attention and often gives credit for the companys success to other leaders in the organization. This is also another example that convinced that Executive A really practices level 5 leadership styles. Furthermore, level 5 leadership style states that leaders or managers, who practice this style, accept responsibility for mistakes and poor results of the organization.  From the scenario, Executive A is quick to accept responsibility for mistakes and poor results and takes pride in developing strong leaders within the company.  The above points clearly shows beyond any reasonable doubts that Executive A practices level 5 leadership styles.

Leader B practices transactional leadership styles, in this style leaders motivate subordinate by rewarding them.  Transactional leaders works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and rewards them for their efforts. Punishment are always stated and well understood that subordinate staffs should held accountable for their deeds.  Transactional leaders allocate work to the team members, they are considered to be fully responsible. To support this, leader B establishes clear goals by clarifying role and task requirements and continually guiding subordinates in the direction of these goals.  This is one of the examples that make leader B qualify to be transactional leaders.  From the above, transactional leaders ensures that there is clear definition of duties and responsibility of every staff members.  From the scenario, Leader B establishes clear goals by clarifying role and task requirements and continually guiding subordinates in the direction of these goals.  In transactional leadership styles, leaders are expected to reward their team members by recognizing their input and as well as ensuring staff members are held account on their deeds.  Leader B from the given scenario believes in a clear chain of command and in rewarding good performance and recognizing employee accomplishments.  Also leader B believes that when a task is delegated to a subordinate, the subordinate is fully responsible for that task and incase of a fault he or she should held accountable and be ready to face the consequences.

Leader C is a Transformation leader.                                                            
Transformation leaders always look after initiatives that can add value in an organization. This leaders enthusiasm is frequently passed onto the staff members.  Transformation leaders are exceptionally motivating, inspiring, encourage, support, recognizes good work and peoples and helping people see beyond their self-interests and focus more on team interests and needs. From the scenario, leader C encourages team members to transcend their own self-interest for the good of the organization.  This is one of the above mentioned statements that describe a transformation leadership style, therefore, leader C practices transformation Leadership styles.  In transformation leadership style, leaders inspire their staff members, develop vision and communicate to the staff members.  Leader C believes that people can achieve great success when they are inspired and passionate about a vision.

How Leader B leadership style would affect the corporation if Leader B were appointed as CEO when Executive A retires.

Leader B who is a transactional leader will ensure that corporation has employees who are hard worker, who hands their work very careful to avoid wastage and there is a division labor thus production will go up. Due to a clear chain of command the corporation will have an ideal structure of management thus accountability and transparency can be achieved.  Leader B will ensure that the corporation has a clear leadership hierarchy.

How Leader C leadership style would affect the corporation if Leader C were appointed as CEO when Executive A retires.

Leader C who is a transformation leader will ensure that corporation is transformed by creating vision and communicating to the staff.  This will make subordinate staff to be part and parcel of the organization.
Corporation will have an ideal human resource department because the leader will be wonderful and uplifting.  There will be clear goals, vision and everyone will be working toward a common ground.

The expectancy theory of motivation applies this concept and the relationship between the attitude of an employee, their belief about the possibility of achieving a target and the rewards they expect out of it. The theory states that an employees motivation is dependant on how much a satisfaction a person derives from the reward on offer (valence), the confidence that the expected performance will help achieve the target (expectancy) and the possibility that the performance will result in the reward (instrumentality). So motivation is the product of valence, expectancy and instrumentality. The three key components and relationships in the expectancy theory of motivation

Expectancy is the persons conviction that a certain goal can be achieved. The performance of an employee is based on numerous personal factors such as knowledge, abilities, skill, personality etc. So every employee has different competency level, so the employee must have the conviction that the task set can be achieved if he puts in certain amount of extra effort. A person who is very confident about himself is more likely to feel confident about a job in hand. If an employee feels the probability of achieving the goal is high, then he shall be more motivated to make efforts towards it.

Instrumentality is the confidence that an increased performance will lead to a valuable reward. For this the employee must trust the management and the transparency in the decision making process of the organization. For example, in a sales related job, the salesperson must trust that the incentives for the sales accounted will be fairly calculated. If he feels poorly compensated then he will not be motivated to achieve his targets. Valence considers the emotional aspect every individual is satisfied by different rewards. For example, an employee may feel satisfied by monetary gains while another may value a promotion in rankrecognition over money. Again a person who does not like excess pressure may not want to take up extra responsibilities if he feels that a task will cause him to lose sleep over it. So the attitude and mental composition determine how a person will perceive a reward the more desirable the incentive will be, more motivated the employee shall be. Valence is thereby the expected satisfaction that an employee feels he will attain at the end of the task.

An employee is going to be motivated if these three factors are all aligned together. So an employee will increase his level of effort keeping in accordance with how much value he perceive the reward to bring and the probability that the he associates to efforts and outcomes having a positive correlation. If any of the 3 factors is not accomplished then the employee will not be fully motivated to give his best towards achieving a goal. Thus, according to Vroom motivation is  valenceinstrumentalityexpectancy.

2. Since the employees under supervisor A have not been putting forth sufficient efforts to reach the production goals, sufficient motivation should be provided to the unit. The expectancy theory of motivation can be applied to help encourage the employees to perform better and reach targets more effectively. Firstly the supervisors should communicate the new production process and targets clearly to all the employees, so that they understand their responsibilities, accountability and new individual goals.

The three factors to be considered are
Expectancy The employees feel that the process is complex and needs hand dexterity that they are not capable of providing.  They opine that it is not worth putting extra effort to reach the new goal, so the Expectancy that they can complete the process successfully is low. The management should ensure ways to boost the employees confidence and make them feel that they have the requisite knowledge and abilities to carry the task successfully. If required a training program or a development program should be initiated so that the employees feel more equipped with the right skills to handle the process. the employees should be provided with the right resources such as raw materials and time and the supervisors should provide support throughout to help them perform the job.

Instrumentality The employee feel that the effort put in does not yield significant reward. The salary increase for those who reach the department goal are almost the same as non performers. So the management should structure a plan such that there is clear and fair rewards given to the performers. That is the relation between the rewards and efforts should be made clear. The management should be such that the employees can trust them. The rules and guidelines of the appraisal should be communicated to the employees, so that they know how the rewards are to be distributed and feel more motivated to achieve their goals. This will lead to a confidence that the increased effort will lead to valuable rewards and be instrumental to their growth.

Valence The employees who are performing should be assured that additional efforts shall not go unnoticed the supervisor can compliment employees putting in extra initiatives so that the other employees feel motivated to do the same. The extra money received from the overtime is almost equivalent to the value added from the bonus, so if significant monetary awards cannot be given then non cash incentives can be provided. Recognition along with monetary rewards will help motivate the employees.

So the Vrooms theory of motivation can be applied in such a way to help the employees perform better.

An Employees perspective

1. Introduction
Communication is an integral part of the culture of any organization. No organization can serve isolated. It needs the support of its internal and external customers the internal customers are the employees who work for the organization where as the external customers are the customers, suppliers and stakeholders. And hence establishing communication links with internal and external customers both is extremely important. The internal customers of an organization are its employees who are the pillars of the firm and hence communicating with them, the goals and objectives of the management is essential. Organizations use different types of ways of internal communication which have further been supported with the development of technology. This paper will give insight of the employees perspective on internal communication within an organization, how internal communication has been developed and the issues that employees face with regards to internal communication.

Many people may seek to wonder how internal communication can benefit the organization and its employees. In todays corporate sector, organizations invest substantial amount of resources and time to strengthen their internal communication channels (Mounter  Smith 2008). Much focus has been on how internal communication benefits the organization itself from the managerial point of view. Hardly ever is the employee view taken into account.

2. Forms of internal communication
Internal communication is meant for employees informing them of any issuance of new policies and rules, clarification on announcements, inform employees of progress of the business appreciate employees and reward them or even to announce a new service or product launch (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). Thus to convey such information managers make use of different techniques. The basic motive is to be more and more effective in delivering the information to the employee. With the advent of IT and technology, various unique ways of communication links have been established.

2.1 Non-personal forms of communication
The oldest forms of non-personal forms of communication are the written methods used by management letters, faxes and presentations (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). These are essentially used in every organization to transfer information to employees. However, these are now becoming more time consuming for employees to analyze and draw advantage from. Also communicating through these means requires more time and costs hence a delay in the decision making process by the employee.

Organizations have recently flattened their structure and coupled with the IT facilities more non-personal ways of communication have been established the most convenient one being e-mails. The facility of wireless internet has led to the development of intranets within the organization i.e. a system which connects all employees of a certain branch working under one roof (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006.). Tasks can be assigned through emails and there rapid progress can be managed through these emails (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006) too as they facilitate quick responses between the manager and the employee. This has overcome some of the problems of other traditional means of internal communication. Reports and newsletters are also some forms of internal communication channels (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). These provide an easy access to company based information and growth facts and figures. Also, these can even be used as a means of employee recognition, appreciating his performance through these modes of communication channels. The introduction of cell phone has also facilitated internal communication between employees and management (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). These are the means which do not require face to face contact of the employees and hence a need was felt of more personal forms of communication.
Through intranets of organizations, which have become a necessity in almost all organizations (Bottazzo2005), employees and managers can stay connected easily and have a smooth two way communication process.

2.2 Personal form of communication
The more effective way of communication with the employees is said to be the personal form whereby the managers directly interact with the employee either in staff meetings, presentations or through personal interviews. It gives a warm feeling, the employee can analyze the verbal expressions and clues (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006) thus such communication has a greater impact on them and they are better able to understand what the person is trying to communicate. Another step further with the use of Internet has been communication through telephonic conversations, video conferencing and video transmission (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). Employees globally distant can now communicate live with each other using this technique which means more facilitation in decision making, sharing of company related news and confidential information and transfer of data. As per a research conducted, face to face communication can not be replaced with e-mails without having created awareness amongst the employees or else it can lead to negative consequences (OKane  Hargie 2007).

3. Challenges in internal communication

3.1 Inconsistent message
One of the greatest challenges in internal communication is the consistency of the message being delivered. The chain of management in a company is very long. The top management shares objectives with the middle level managers. The middle level managers share relevant information related to these objectives to their sub-ordinates who then share this information with the employees who have to achieve those objectives. Thus it is essential that the information communicated is consistent so that the right objectives are achieved (Holtz 2004).

3.2 Distribution channels
The distribution channels also influence the level of communication. Different channels have different characteristics and which channels are used depends on the type of information and even employee preferences. E-mail for instance is a commonly used technique for sharing information even though each day employees have to deal with several emails at a time (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). However, an email may be suitable to distribute information common to all employees where as, complex information that is meant to influence an employees perception and convince him to a certain idea should not be transferred through e-mails. Face to face communication in this case would serve as a better way (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.).

3.3 Lack of understanding the message
It is important that all messages delivered through internal communication mediums are understood by the employees. If the employees dont understand the message, they will not be able to take the needed action (Holtz 2004). This is so because employees are representatives of the company to all its other customers and partners. It is the employees who interact with the customers and execute the plans developed by the management. If the message is not clear, the execution fails. The education level of employees are also different (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.) hence it is not necessary that information sent through a fax will be understood by all employees in a similar manner. An employee may not understand what the message says.

4. Role of management in internal communication
The management plays a fairly strong role in developing the internal communication channel as it is they who are the heads of this channel. Thus the management must know how to transfer the right information to the right person in a right manner (Holtz 2004). As mentioned in his book, Holtz (2004) says that management has the power to influence the employees perception of the organization, convey needed information, build credibility and trust and increase employee morale and efficiency through internal communication. The more successful the channel is, the more information the employee has, the more trust he develops in the organization. According to a study reported in Financial Times, the CEOs of organizations are now becoming more conversation oriented (Holtz 2004). Thus internal communication is not only left to middle level managers but the top level management is also becoming part o the process.

With the shift in technology, businesses have become more complex and hence it is the management that must keep its employees updated, trained and well informed in order to succeed. For instance lets take the example of Wal-Mart it would never have been so successful if the company would not understand customer needs. The supply chain management gathers data about customer preferences and shares it with employees so employees know what the right products o sell to which group of customers. Without this, Wal-mart would never be a huge success in the retail industry (Holtz 2004). Communication with out the support of the managers is just not possible especially in a top down communication organization (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). Managers are leaders who must ensure the work environment is error free (Veronisi 2009)

5. Role of employees in internal communication
Employees are an asset for any and every organization hence communication with them is essential for it is these people who work for an organization, they are the ones who actually achieve the objectives set forth by the management hence perspective on the importance of internal organizational communication is extremely important (Mounter  Smith 2008). Not only this but internal communication also communicates the organizational targets to the employees hence they are further motivated to perform efficiently.

5.1 Employee communication preferences
Once the management has decided which information is to be transferred to the employees, it is important to understand what the employees preferences in communication are. According to a research conducted to judge employees preferences regarding the type of channel used, fewer employees prefer completely electronic information. Most of the employees favored a combination of personal and non-personal form of communication depending on the type of information being communicated (Sinickas 2004). Thus supervisors and managers must ensure that employee preferences are taken into consideration in internal communication measures so information is transferred more effectively. Also the information should be communicated in such a way that it holds the attention of employees. What is very critical for a CEO might not make a difference to an employee hence it should be presented in such a way that all employees take interest into it. For example, a CEO reading from a prepared script, the figures of sales and profits for the year will never create interest for the employee.

5.2 Employee attitude and expectations
When sharing information with employees, the supervisors and manages also have to take into consideration the employee attitude towards information sharing and their expectations the employees trust in management is a critical factor that defines employee attitudes (Holtz 2004). If the employee believes that the management is presenting information that is credible, only then will they grasp the information. The next step is presenting relevant information (Holtz 2004). Not all information presented is relevant to every employee hence the management must ensure that the right information is transferred to the right employee for instance next years sales target figure will not be relevant for the clerk at the office of an organization.

In todays workplace, employees expect recognition and involvement thus they expect to be told that they matter (Holtz 2004). Thus if communication leads to involvement of employees, it definitely leads to a boost in their morale and improvement in their performance. Also the employees expect that through internal communication and information sharing, the management defines the employees role at his job what work he has to do and provide him with the needed information. This makes the employee more committed towards the organization and hence he is able to achieve the goals set (Holtz 2004)

6. Corporate culture
According to a Report by Human Capital Institute and Towers Perrin, some characteristics which define the corporate culture of an organization are the recruitment policies, the social links within the organization, the structure of the hierarchy, the codes of conduct and policies and the myths about the organization and management. (Argenti  Barnes 2009).  

6.1 Internal communication and organizational effectiveness
Internal communication is linked to organizational effectiveness. The level of internal communication leads to the development of a good relation between the employee, the employer and the organization and thus defines the employees willingness to contribute to the organization, his productivity and efforts which in turn affects the profitability of the organization (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). The following flowchart shows the relationship how internal communication leads to organizational effectiveness

6.1.1 Link to profitability
As evident from the flow chart above, internal communication leads to higher productivity in the employees hence more profits for the organization as employees work harder and harder. Not only this but one of the strategic advantages of the internal communication is also that employees are ambassadors of the organization hence they tend to influence customer purchase decisions (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). Based on the culture adopted by the employees customers can be influenced into buying the firms products and services if they develop a positive image.

6.1.2 Link to job satisfaction and employee retention
Job satisfaction is another benefit that develops from internal communication. An employee is satisfied with his job if his supervisor clearly translates to him what is expected from him (Holtz 2004). The more explicit the supervisor is in conveying information and objectives, the more satisfied the employee will be from his job. The employee is better able to understand the business and his job and also share his views and ideas with the managers and supervisors with the development of better communication links (Holtz 2004). This results in higher commitment and hence greater job satisfaction as the employee feels he is an integral part of the organization. Many researches have proved that internal communication and the level of information employees have to job satisfaction and the performance of the employees (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.).

6.2 Two way communication and internal branding
The corporate culture of an organization serves as an internal brand i.e. it does for employees what a brand does for customers. The stronger the corporate culture is the more it will influence an employee and the more positive an image it will create of the organization. The corporate culture builds certain images of the organization which lead to the employee forming a perceptions regarding the organization and developing strong internal communication is an effective way of displaying the corporate culture of a firm (Argenti  Barnes 2009). Employees are the greatest influencers outside an organization. Like the name and performance of a brand leads to customers forming perceptions about how the product will be, the attitudes of employees moulds the perceptions of people regarding a certain organization hence internal communication leads to internal branding (Argenti  Barnes 2009).

7. Influences of internal corporate communication

7.1 External influences, including media and technology
Different forms of media influence the level of satisfaction for employees. A survey by Bynre (2006) showed that personal form of communication i.e. facet to face usually influences employees if the information is related to their job, non-personal means satisfied employees of the information was from top management and e-mails were found to be satisfactory or urgent news.  With the impact of media, employees have become more and more media literate and informed through the internet. Thus many a times the traditional means of internal communication used by organization fails to satisfy the employees. Alternately, a lot of information is being shared between employees through other forms such as social media such as face book, blogs and discussions. These help in building employee relations, sharing of feed back etc. which enhances communication between employees (Perry 2008). Another influence to media is technology as discussed in detail below. The advancements in technology have led to the development of more convenient and cost-saving means of communications which are rapidly adopted by todays technology orient society of employees.

7.2 Internal influences, including employee surveys and company grapevine
There are many influences within the organization that affect the level of internal communication in an organization. One very important form of this influence is employee surveys which are conducted in every organization. The basic purpose o employee surveys are to get employee feedback related to a certain aspect of the organization and to assess employee attitude towards the organization, its structure, its culture policies etc (Edmonson 2006). However with the need of internal communication, these surveys serve as a two way communication between the employee and the management to take their feedback and hence make changes and improvement based on the survey results (Admonson 2006). Another influence is the organizational grapevine which affects communication. These are the rumors that flow in the organization. Grapevine may not be beneficial in all cases but in some cases it serves a positive benefit for managers example it can warn the managers of an expected change that is about to take place the organization. (Crampton, Hodge  Mishra 1998).

8. Future of internal communication

8.1 Changing business environment
The business environments of organizations are now changing. Most organizations follow a top down communication system hence role of internal communication is becoming even more important (Van Nostran, 2004 in White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.) as the top level managers are the people who are the most informed and they must transfer this knowledge to their subordinates.

In todays changing business environment, organizations are becoming geographically dispersed and hence internal communication becoming even more important (Yates 1993) Also the work place environment of todays business organizations are becoming flatter which means even greater communication is required between the employees and the management to give the workplace environment a humanized (Yates 1993) atmosphere. The employees are required to work in teams together and hence it is important for them to communicate with each other even it means speaking to a co-worker sitting in a different continent.

8.2 Technological advances
The development in technology has made communication even easier. It has caused the structure of organizations to become more flat i.e. sharing of information with all employees at the same time is possible (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). Instead of the CEO sending email to his manager and the manager sending it to the employee, which means there are chances that the message has been altered or censored, information ca now directly be sent to employees from the CEO. A simple e-mail from the CEO can be sent to recognize a certain effort of an employee. Thus, with the developments in the technological sector, internal communication has grown and become even easier (Yates 1993). The managements of organization must adapt themselves to the latest methods being introduced. Without the development of these new technologies, the internal communication procedures through written means would have turned out to be costly for the management (Yates 1993).

9. Conclusion
The importance of internal communication is now felt in every organization with the changes in organizational structures. Employees have an important role to play in the development of internal communication and managers must take their perception into consideration for internal communication is a two way process which needs the support of the management and the trust of the employees. The fact that the organization is communicating with the employees acts as a support factor and the employee trusts that the organization will recognize his efforts (Jo  Shim 2005).

Executive Summary
This marketing plan analyzes the Russian market and how Soup Plantation can effectively enter into the market. The Russian hotels and motels industry is one of the most competitive in Europe and is mainly driven by the local consumers. The industry has experienced rapid growth since 2004 and is expected to maintain the momentum through 2013. The objective of the marketing plan is to increase target customers through promotion, increase revenues, and open up more chains.  Since Russian market is labor intensive it would be advisable for the restaurant to enter into franchise and acquisition to reduce the cost of market entry. The restaurant will use below and above the line marketing strategies including web strategies. The report concludes that there is a high likelihood of the restaurant prospering in the Russian market.

Situation Analysis
Russia is one of the most attractive markets in Europe.  It is a transcontinental country that occupies both Europe and Asia and has an attractive market compared to other European countries with comparative population since Russia is an emerging market that presents a lot of opportunities.  With a population of more than 140,041,247 people and a vibrant growing liberalized market that is emerging from era of communism, Russia presents an opportunity for any business. The following is the SWOT analysis of Russia

Strengths
Russia is an emerging democratic political regime where the government has overwhelming support. The country had political stability that provides enabling business environment.

Russia has experienced strong economic growth over the last few decades with the economy driven by natural resources and service industry. Russia has maintain surplus current account, very little foreign debt, and excess reserve which provides financial stability.

The period after 1998 economic crisis was followed by economic reforms which reduced personal and business taxes to the lowest in Europe, making Russia the most attractive investment destination in Europe.
Russia has a large labor force of 75.1 million with literacy level standing above 99 for the whole population.
The country has a large market with more than 140,041,247 people.

Weaknesses
Russia is weighed down by high levels of corruption in the government and bureaucracy in business registration.

The country economy is much dependant on oil which account for 37 of the GDP

The country has done less to restore its crumbling infrastructure
There is systematic political activism that is directed towards foreign firms that greatly limits the power of foreign investors in the market

Opportunities
As an emerging market, Russia has a growing domestic market that has many investment opportunities compared to other countries in Europe

Government has set aside more than US1 trillion to overhaul the infrastructure and modernize business environment which is likely to spur economic growth and create enabling business environment.

Russia has been selected to host 2014 Winter Olympic and this will boost tourism and hospitality industry.

Threat
Russia is susceptible to terrorist attacks that may destabilize businesses environment. In 2009, Nazran attack that cost lives of 21 people and another that derailed Express train to Moscow has been a big blow to investors confidence.

Russia has long held political and business conflict with Georgia  and European neighbors over gas supply threatens business environment

Unlike other developed countries in Europe, Russia has an emerging a growing hospitality and tourism industry. The hotels and motels sector has been growing at a higher rate compared to growth in other countries in Europe. For example between 2004 and 2008, Russian hotels and motels sector experienced highest growth in Europe.

The following is a PEST Analysis of Russian hotel and motels industry

Political
Strong public support of Russian parliamentary government has provided growth in the business environment.  The business environment has stabilized over a long period of time, with less political upheavals, and this has spurred growth in hotel and motels sector.  There are not government barriers for entry into the industry although high handedness of the executive poses a threat to new investor in the industry. However, lack of government transparency and high levels of corruption have inhibited growth in the industry, although this is cited in specific cases only rather than for the whole industry. Russian government is committed to invest more than US1 trillion to overhaul the business environment and this will present opportunities for investors in the industry.

Economical
Russia strong economic growth with a GDP that reached 2.117 trillion in 2009 has corresponded to growth in hotels and motels industry. Between 2004 and 2008, the industry recorded a CAGR of 12.47. This was the highest growth in the region compared to other countries like France and Germany which recorded 2.3 and 2.4 growth respectively in the same period.  In 2008, the industrial turnover was 10.3 billion.  The industry is expected to growth by 12.4 between 2008 and 2013 and the total turnover by 2013 will be 18.5 billion.  These figures confirm the vigor for growth in Russian hotels and motels industry and projected future growth presents more opportunities for investors. Furthermore, compared to other countries, Russia industry can be considered young and in growth phase presenting more opportunities for investors.

Social
Russia is an expansive country. The country has a large population of 140,041,247 people which represents a large market base.  The country has diverse social cultures which have a lot of influence on the food culture.  Research shows that Russian people are major consumers of service from hospitality industry. Due to expansiveness of the country, people are not able to cover distance from one city to another in one day and most have to seek hotel services in between their journeys. In 2008, Russian domestic consumers accounted for 64.6 of the total industrial revenues. This means that domestic consumers are major drivers of the industry. On the other hand, domestic business consumers accounted for 18.7 while international consumers including tourist accounted for 16.7 of total industrial revenues. The market is highly segmented according to social demographics with many hotels that are serving the upper social strata but research identifies a gap in the low and middle strata which is not well served.

Technical
Like other industries, hotels and motels industry in Russia is influenced by modern technology. Gradually, there has been increased introduction of modern production technologies which is become a competitive edge in the industry.  Most important, the industry has been influenced by internet technology as it is becoming one of the important marketing strategies. Currently, Russia has more than 45.25 million internet users.

Key marketing objectives
To reach more than 10 million potential customers  within the first 12 months through promotion which will use US200,000

To increase sales turnover to US 5 million in the first 12 months
To increase number of customers to 1 million within the first 12 months
To open and operate 10 hotel chain within the first 24 months

Marketing strategy
Russia is an expansive country which means the market entry strategy used and the marketing strategy must be suitable to cover large area. Most important, the market entry strategy must be carefully chosen to assist in penetrating large area of the country.

The hotels and motels industry in Russia can be considered to be capital intensive.  This implies that to have a successive market entry, a company requires to have large capital outlay.  Datamonitor data shows that for successful venture into the market, a company will be required to inject large amount of capital in building, dcor, laying down ICT infrastructure, and in others areas which means one must have large capital to venture into Russian market. Due to bureaucracy and legal structure, a company will require hiring layers and other professionals when purchasing properties and in other process of development. Considering the above conditions, the most appropriate strategy for the business to venture into Russian market would be through use of franchising and acquisitions. This would ensure that the business operate under a laid down structure and with an already existing customer base, the business would not incur huge expenses to venture into the market.

Marketing mix

Product
Soup Plantation offers varied in menu items.  The restaurant offers a variety of salads, soups, pasta dishes and others. However, the company must first understand the Russian market and tailor their products to Russian market. Food preferences for Americans are quite different from that of Russian and hence intensive market research would have to be carried out on Russian foods in order to come up with a menu that is really Russian but with an American touch.

Price
To succeed in the market, the restaurant will be required to use different pricing strategies to ensure that it attracts and retains customers.  It is recommended that since Russia is a new territory the restaurant use penetration pricing. In this case, the restaurant will set artificially low the prices of menu items for the acquired or franchised restaurants to make customers feel presence of the new company. Later on, when the company acquires customers, it can use economy pricing where it will keep production and marketing expenses low to serve the low and middle target market.

Place
Due to expansiveness of the country, the restaurant will be required to set up different chains distributed in major town. The hotel is mainly targeting domestic travelers who are the main drivers of the industry but it will also target tourists. Therefore, the restaurant will be required to set up operation in different parts of the country, especially in major towns. It is recommended that the restaurant base its operation in Moscow but meanwhile have restaurant chains in major towns. Within the first 24 months, the restaurant should have about 10 restaurant chains in all major towns of Russia.

Promotion
The restaurant targets to use US200,000 within first year on promotion. The restaurant will use different marketing strategies. It will employ below and above   the line marketing strategies.  This will include advertising the mass media, billboards, discount coupons, off street sampling, and others like personal selling using emails, letters, and sales agent. Most important, the restaurant will have to employ web based strategies. Interne penetration is quite high in Russia with more than 45.25 million Internet users.  The company will set up a website in Russia language through which customers can make orders and book reservation for dinners.

Recommendations
Compared to most countries in Europe, Russia presents a unique investment opportunity for hotels and restaurants. It has a young growing industry that presents a lot of investment opportunities. The country economy is growing and the hotel industry corresponds to this growth.   Future forecasts show that the industry will record increased growth since it is yet to reach saturation.  This report would recommend Soap Plantation to take up the investment opportunity in Russia. Through franchising or acquisition, the restaurant would incur less market entry expenses but it will have to commit huge capital in promotion.

 Exercise 3

Dear Joe
This is to inform you that the order of 1070 shirts that you have placed with our garment making company is behind schedule as we were not getting the exact shade of the cloth that you had ordered. Hence I would request you to kindly extend the deadline from Sunday, 28th March 2010 to Wednesday, 31st March 2010. I assure you that there will be no further delays.
Warm Regards

Peter

In the above mentioned case, I think the client can grant the request by strongly letting the vendor know that further delays if any would have negative repercussions.  It has been rightly pointed out in Gadgetopia that Email is a historical record of what happened. (para. 6) Hence if Peter asks for further extension of time, Joe can even ask for cancellation of the order or compensation for the delay based on his last mail to Peter which would work as the testimony of the condition he had laid while granting Peters request. Besides, email is one of the fastest modes of communication. According to Capozzi, Email helps businesses convey information faster and easier than before, emails reduce costs, and they keep track of past conversations. (para.1) With so many benefits it would be the best method of communication in the above mentioned urgent situation.

Exercise 2

The purpose of this report is to discuss the choice that I made between enrolling in an Australian and American university for my bachelors degree program. At the time of making the decision, recession was underway and the American dollar seemed stronger than the Australian dollar. I compared my overall cost of studying and staying in both the countries and chose Australia over America.

My biggest mistake was that I did not scrutinize the context in which I was making such a critical decision. I did not study the various factors related to the world economy while comparing the economic conditions of two countries. Hence after a year of my taking admission in Australia the whole economic scenario has changed. Recession has resurfaced. Now, living and studying in Australia has become as expensive as living and studying in USA. My decision looks immature and faulty.  If I had known the actual scenario, I would have incorporated a well-informed decision-making process and my choice of destination would not have been Australia, rather America.

 If only I would have been aware of the surrounding circumstances, I would have handled the situation differently.

Energy is a major resource in the production process. In view of this the production of energy should be largely diversified to not only improve efficiency, but also improve the base of production. If the passed researches are anything to go by, then the soon the adoption of Biofuels is undertaken the better. Besides, global warming is taking tall to fast and can only be contained through the use of energy sources that do not emit much carbons into the atmosphere.

In this paper the prospects of Biofuels adoption over the world is undertaken. The paper narrows down to the prospects of biomass use in Canada. The paper then looks at the current Biofuels trend in Canada traversing through production procedures and resources. The paper then looks at the method used in the production of Biofuels. The paper closes by giving a brief conclusion of the general status of the production of Biofuels not only in Canada but world over.

Biofuels Prospects  
The upsurge in the oil prices in the international market and the campaign towards a clean environment has prompted the development of the alternative energy resources. Biofuels have been seen as cost effective, hence the sudden turn to them as alternative fuel sources. The development of Biofuels in Canada has largely benefited from the sound policy guidelines offered by the government. This paradigm shift took place after the government of Canada contracted a company to undertake the EPA required Tier I and tier II testing under the government act of clean air (OECD-FAO, 2009, p.46).

The test conclusively indicated that emissions from Biofuels did not pose any threat to the health of human beings. Biofuels have no sulphur, neither do they have aromatics. The use of Biofuels considerably reduces hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere. In a study in the US showed that use of biodiesel reduced the amount of hydrocarbon emissions into the air by 78.5 . Moreover, the use of biodiesel has a balancing effect on the energy level. For instance, the production of a single unit of biodiesel, the needed energy does gain 3.24 units of energy (National Biodiesel Board of Canada).

The agricultural sector has been expanding hence increasing the supply of agricultural products. Consequently, this has led to the fall in prices of agricultural products. On the contrary the petroleum products have been increasing in prices. The fuel security has been estimated at 68.8 in Canada. To address this state, given the availability of agricultural products such as vegetables, biodiesel may just offer a relief (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2008 p. 76). Biodiesel offers the best options as they are not only are emission free but are also quite cost effective.

In 1996 for example, it was projected that it costed the military 57 billions to secure oil from foreign countries. Subsequently the taxes paid to this effect costed the government 4 billions. Alarmingly it also costed the government of America a whooping 45 per barrel in environmental costs (The USA energy information administrations independent statistics and analysis, p. 16). To suffice this, the American government lost 10000-25000 for every billion dollars spent in importing oil.

The aforementioned not withstanding, the supply of fuel has always remained lower than the demand in the market with the Canadian industries growing relatively fast and in  dare need for reliable and sufficient supply of fuel. This provides sufficient ground for undertaking all the efforts to utilise the available resources in the production of alternative fuels. Canada is considered the largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, however given the fluctuation in the international oil price and the ensuing fragile issue of global warming the Canadian government has to rethink an alternative fuel source other than oil. Currently Canada supplies the largest amount of the oil needed by America (V Kann et al, p.43).

Sadly even as one of the highest producer of oil the Canadian businessmen have still opted for importation of oil from foreign countries. In 2006 the national fuel supply board established that about 13,017,025 tons of coal was imported at a cost estimated at 61,112,428. These imports were from the US and other states (The USA energy information administrations independent statistics and analysis, p. 17).  The committee on the supply of fuels asked the nationals to consume the local oil to the maximum.

Energy Prospects in Canada
Canada is today endowed with a number of energy resources. To begin with Canada is largely endowed with wind energy. This is witnessed in almost all the territories of Canada. It has major wind profiles in the Prairies, the great Lakes, coastal areas in Ontario, the Graspe and Atlantic Provinces coast. Based on the available data from the meteorological department, it is estimated that wind energy can provide about 28000 MW of wind energy.

The solar energy potential of Canada is estimated at 70000 MW.  However, the estimate is at its minimum. The solar energy potential is in South Ontario, the Prairies and Quebec. This potential has largely depended on the adopted technology. Mainly, in the south, solar tracking panels have been used. If these solar panels are used across board the largest potential of solar energy would be attained in the Saskatchewan (The USA energy information administrations independent statistics and analysis, p. 17).

Therere also a number of potential small hydro units throughout Canada. These small hydro firms have potential of up to 11 GW. Ontario and Quebec are said to be with the largest potential. There also exist in Creeks that would be utilised to produce another combined 1000 MW. There are also a number of small hydro projects that if undertaken, could generate another 862 MW worth of hydro energy.
Similarly, Canada has high prospects of geothermal energy production. This is mainly found in areas of British Colombia. This source has a technical potential of about 3000MW. Ocean energy can also be accessed in Canada. The east and west coasts are estimated to have a potential of about 6.1 GW harnessed from wave and tidal energy. These estimates give the minimum benchmark, or else tidal river in British Colombia do indicates higher potentials (Kann et al p. 75).

Current Energy Status in Canada
In this section highlights are provided for the status of the renewable energy potential of Canada. In 2003, of the worlds 39294MW wind power produced, Canada was in the 14th place with an estimated 340MW. This wind power has been mainly installed in towns of Quebec with 28 and Alberta.  At the same time about 340 MW of solar thermal energy was produced world over and Canada had an 8 share in this production equivalent to 606 square metres. The energy is utilised for the heating of residential pools. 12 of the energy is used for domestic water heating and 7 for heat and ventilations in industrial and commercial buildings. This capacity is mainly installed in Ontario (Canakci, M., Sanli, H, p.430).

As at 2003 the world solar photovoltaic production was put at 3,120 MW, with the main shares going to Japan, Germany and the US. Of the total production Canada had 11.8 MW worth of the system had been installed. At the same time, the Canadian small hydro capacity stood at 2200MW. This was mainly produced from Quebec with a capacity of 60 and in Ontario that had an equally high capacity.

By 2007, the thermal capacity was projected at 100MW with the major projects being installed at British Colombia and Meager Creek. Besides, there was over 30000 earth energy that was installed in residential places. At the end of 2003, ocean energy accounted for 20MW of the energy supply. This was being generated at Annapolis in Nova where a plant for tidal energy had been installed. Then, there were no wave plants built in Canada apart from one meant for demonstration.

By 2003 biomass fuel supply stood at 7935MW. Biomass has been the countrys main supplier of renewable energy in particular for the generation of electricity. British Colombia has been producing almost half of the Canadian biomass energy (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2008 p 69). This has been mainly because of the provinces endowment with high resources from pulp industry, paper industry and forests. There are other provinces such as Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec and New Brunswick that have significant biomass capacity (The USA energy information administrations independent statistics and analysis, p 26).

Table showing Energy resource endowment in Canada
Type of energy resource Solar PVSolar ThermalWind Small HydroBiomass Number of units produced11.85606339.521827935
Pie chart showing energy resource endowment in Canada as the end of 2003
 EMBED MSGraph.Chart.8 s From the chart it is evident that the Canadian government has invested much in the biomass energy sector given it resource availability cost effectiveness.

Biofuels in the Current Fuel Mix
Fuels from oil that is crude accounts for 96 of the worlds energy demand particularly needed for transportation (OECD-FAO, 2009, p. 45). The other energy forms are used in specific applications. The total dependence on fuel harnessed from crude oil does not present an ideal state of affair. The reserves for crude oil are limited and their distribution quite uneven. The world petroleum market has experienced distortion in the supply of this important good only to have its price escalate so highly.

Diversifying this dependence trend offers a relief. Biofuels ordinarily use the locally available resources particularly from agricultural production. This does not only reduce the energy costs but also it does relief the environment from pollution arising from the release of carbon into the atmosphere. This is an energy resource that is not only cheap but also readily available. Besides, it is renewable.

In 2004, Biofuels production stood at 33 billion litres. Relative to the 1200 billion litres of gasoline produced annual is quite low. In the same year the biodiesel production stood at 2 billion litres most of which was produced in the European Union. In Germany the government has offered incentives to encourage production of biodiesel. The Germany government has made production of biodiesel duty free.

In 2004, liquid Biofuels of the EU was 2040 ktoe estimated at 0.7 of the total market. Rapeseed produced the highest amount of biodiesel. Ethanol is produced mainly from wheat and sometimes from sugar beet, though to a small extent (The USA energy information administrations independent statistics and analysis p. 16). To use ethanol, it has to be blended with gasoline and diesel. The blends are said to have side effects on the filter if the blending is not done well. This could be as a result of segregation of the biodiesel.

Biodiesel are said to have a high material compatibility. Mainly, the biodiesel do not expose metals to wear. Similarly, in high pressure systems, Biofuels tend to increase the life of the fuel injector equipment. The Biofuels have caloric value of about 37.27. This is 9 lower than the common number 2 petrol diesel. The biodiesel are meant to have a better lubricity and have a high combustion rate. This high combustion gives the engine more energy (Ho, Janet, 2007).

Biodiesel are quite compatible with other elements. However there are cases that give negative results. If combined or used with plastics the biodiesel degrades the PVC hence dissolving the polystyrenes. Besides, when metals are exposed to biodiesel, particularly materials that are copper based they degenerate. A host of metals do not however react with biodiesel. The biodiesel also have effects on the different types of rubber found in the engine (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2008 p. 65). When biodiesel loses stability, it does affects the fluorinated elastomers particularly those treated with metal oxides and peroxides.

Biomass Resource Availability
The resources required for the development of biodiesel are readily available in Canada except for the availability of the funds required in the production of biodiesel. The Biofuels are mainly produced from agricultural products. These agricultural products are mainly vegetable and wood pulp or paper.  The Biofuels may also be made from animal wastes such as manure and urines.

Production of Biofuels from barley and wheat
Wheat and other cereals are mainly utilised in the production of ethanol. When the cereals are ground and fermented they form ethanol. This ethanol can be blended with other gasoline products to give biodiesel with less carbon produced.

Production of biodiesel from sugar cane
Ethanol is also processed from sugar a product of sugar cane. This sugar is fermented over a period of time and gives ethanol (Canakci, M., Sanli, H, p.438). The ethanol similarly produced here can be blended with gasoline and other petroleum products to give biodiesel. Ethanol can also be produced from rapeseed, palm, soybeans and sunflowers seeds.

Enzymes are also being appropriately used in the production of Biofuels. Enzymatic hydrolysis coupled with gasification of ligno-cellulosic feedstock has been mainly adopted today in the production of Biofuels. These have less environmental effects. The availability of the land will have a far reaching effect on the production of biodiesel.

Biomass Conversion Technologies
The production of biodiesel can be released using a number of methods. The common production methods are discussed hereunder.

Production of Ethanol from Cellulosic Biomass
To produce ethanol advanced technology is required. The resources required in the production could include lignocellulosic from which ethanol is produced. The lignocellulosic matter is derived from agriculture.



Production of 1st generation Biofuels by fermentation from cellulosic biomass

Adapted from Biofuels in the EU
In this process it need be noted that cellulose can be converted into alcohol, just as hemi cellulose can. The two are first converted into sugar. Lignin is converted into sugar via a thermo chemical process. World over, there is little commercial production of ethanol however Canada, Europe and the US have their production commercialised.

Production of Biofuels through Gasification
Biomass feedstock can be utilised in the production of Biofuels. In particular, F-T diesels, methanol, DME and kerosene can be produced through the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. The process can e summarised as hereunder.

Production of second generation Biofuels by gasification from cellulosic biomass

Adapted from Biofuels in the EU
More innovations are needed to cut on the production costs incurred in the transformation and in the improvement of the reliability. Similarly, the production needs to seek ways of improving the treatment and the purification process (OECD-FAO, 2009, p. 64). This advance may also check the carbon balance in the Biofuels.

Conclusion
The threat being posed by global warming needs to be approached through policies that will address the issue of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The invention of Biofuels is one of the moves in this direction. The salient idea does not only address the issue of global warming but also it does address agricultural productivity and returns.

However the global governments ought to put in place policies that will support the idea of biomass production. This should be done through financial support. Incentives such as duty free production of biomass will also go a long way in promoting the productivity of this pertinent energy resource.