#foth: asks and answers

[focusontheheart]

Hello! I just wanted to say that your team did an amazing job with this game! I cannot wait for it to come out! Thank you for putting so much effort and so much of your time into making it. I have not even played it yet and I can already tell it's filled with your hearts and souls. We can all be grateful to have people like you in the Horizon community. Again, thank you! 💖💖💖

Thank you thank you thank you!!

We could not be more pleased at the wonderful reception and excitement from everyone, your words mean so much to us!

We are so proud to give something back to the community, it's gratifying to know that all the love and hard work we've put into FOTH is evident to you and everyone else. We hope you enjoy playing when it comes out!💘💘

[steelart]

Really love seeing your BG3 Hades-inspired artwork and can't wait see where you lead it next.

If were a full visual novel, maybe some parts animated would love playing it.

An idea for the future, maybe

Hey thanks so much anon! In fact I am doodling the next one now. Here's a sneak preview of a fish head and some sausages in the layout roughs, it's always fun to share how kinda bad the first drafts of my ideas are. No doubt these will change some by the time it's finished.

I'd love a full visual novel! I'm no programmer myself, and to do something like that justice I'd probably need to learn both that and do about 20x the art for the various sprite changes and illustrations, which would take an enormous amount of time to do alone. Love the idea though. On that note, I did recently make a small illustration contribution to @focusontheheart, a Horizon: Forbidden West visual fan novel game that involved many talented and passionate artists, writers, and programmers. It's really well put together and I wish I had half the talents of the other folks involved. I'll post a copy of the illustration I made here later this month, but in the meantime I recommend checking the game out if you're at all familiar with Horizon, or honestly if you just like visual novels and fan works. It's great and full of love for the characters and world.

[sanguinarysanguinity]

for the WIP meme, i know i already asked about it, but any more about FotH timeloop and also i am intrigued by Guthrie DIRKED 👀

From the Timeloop AU, which at this point is mostly an excuse to whump everyone in sight:

It was the stuff of nightmares, Keith lying bleeding in his arms. It had been his nightmare, only the night before; now it was real. Ewen felt for the wound, hoping that his warning had fouled Lachlan's blow, but God had not looked kindly on them: dark stuff frothed at Keith's lips. Keith's hand found Ewen's. He struggled to speak, but no intelligible word crossed his lips.  "My God, my God!" Ewen murmured. "Windham…! Keith…!" There was no reply. Keith died so, his eyes fast on Ewen's, and Ewen's hand held tightly in his. His hand went slack, his eyes emptied. Ewen could have wept. Too cruel, to be given the foresight to save Keith, and still fail him at the last! The dream, with Keith's sweet words for him, sweet words and the gift of Keith's ring, now seemed a mockery of what had passed. Was this what the Sight was? To see the future, with no chance to avert it? Those with the Sight were often a little strange; Ewen now thought 'twas a wonder they did not run mad.

~ ~ ~

From Major Guthrie DIRKED, which is exactly what it says on the tin: Guthrie gets dirked, and it turns out that the only thing worse than a living Guthrie is a dead Guthrie...

Keith knelt and felt one of Guthrie's hands, then his face and neck. "He's not long dead; his body is still warm. Where are his seconds, damn it?" But the question was soon answered, for they heard the crunch of hurried footsteps and a voice calling out an apology for being late. Keith and Ewen looked up, only to see the redcoat officer entering the clearing stop in his tracks, his mouth open in shock and surprise.  An instant later his hand was on his sword. "What have you done!" Drawing his sword, he advanced. Keith and Ewen stood and retreated, yielding the body to him. The officer was not alone; two others followed. "You have murdered him!" the first accused, kneeling over the body. "Murdered!" one of his fellows called, and they both rushed forward, one with sword drawn, the other shouldering away the first to kneel beside the body. The missing doctor, evidently, by the businesslike way he addressed himself to Guthrie's corpse. "Aye, it's murder," he pronounced after a moment. "Guthrie is dead." He looked up accusingly at Keith and Ewen. "And not moments ago, either."

[chiropteracupola]

For the WIP game, any FotH thing you're wanting to show off? I'd love to see what you've done with any of them since the last time we played this game. <3

the unfortunate answer to that question is Not Very Much*

but here's a bit of ladyhawke au nonetheless, in which Keith and Archie disagree on how shapeshifters ought to get along in the military situation of the day:

“You would ask me to use this for the gain of your… your young gentleman?” Keith’s ire was cut off short as he stumbled over the title, unwilling to declare that man to be either Prince or Pretender in such company. Doctor Cameron stared back at him from beneath lowered eyebrows, his intent expression not at all swayed by Keith’s outburst. “The pair of you, with the proper plans, could be unlike anything our cause has ever known,” he mused, as if Keith had not protested at all. “So much could be mended, had we only such a spy as you could become.” “Do you imply, then, that I would change my coat for yours? Sir, I do not deny that I have thrown in my lot with your cousin, but that is on account of the obligations that I had to him, and not for any disloyalty to my king.” Did Doctor Cameron really think him so changeable? Keith knew that the man could not possibly hold Government officers as a whole in any sort of esteem, but still had hoped that he himself might have been granted some additional courtesy.

[inspiteallthedanger]

hi!! what is your favourite beatles album? could you rank them based on your preferences?

Why Nonny, WHY? Why have you come here to torment me? This is so hard! I don’t know. How do I answer this? I’m going to simply have to go on vibes and how much they hit me emotionally. Will this be about what’s the ‘best’ album? No. Simply it’s about the % of the songs I go - “Yes this is something I sing along to or vibe with”. I’m looking at this and keep changing the top album but simply NONE of them look right. Come for me I am wet paper strong about this ranking.

Rubber Soul (1965) - the sound here is so cohesive, they’ve slightly moved out of straight pop and so it’s got some lovely different sounds. Girl and Michelle! In my Life!!

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) - my dad had this on vinyl (and now I have that version) when I was growing up. So it has huge sentimental value. But I just dig the magical vibes and With a Little Help is just *chef’s kiss*.

Help! (1965) - it’s possible I’m being biased by the film, but I just love all the songs on this album. Another Girl and The Night Before and Hide Your Love Away could simply not be better.

Abbey Road (1969) - I could go on about how they’d really matured as a band and were at the height of their power, plus they had all the emotion to inspire some great songs. But really, I love drama. Oh! Darling and Come Together are two of my favourite Beatle songs too.

Revolver (1966) - She Said, She Said is a contender for my favourite Beatles song. Obviously there are other complete classics too, but some of these don’t hit for me so it can’t be higher up.

A Hard Day’s Night (1964) - again, film biased perhaps but this contains simply some of the best pop songs ever.

Please Please Me (1963) - Please Please Me and Love Me Do are such cold stone classics that it almost doesn’t matter that the rest is a little meh. But it does also have Twist and Shout and Boys, so it’s still amazing.

Let It Be (1970) - I do love some of this but the drama is not enough to push it higher up the list.

Beatles For Sale (1964) - John’s sad songs are so good that it should be higher but apparently that’s not how this works.

The Beatles (White Album) (1968) - look, some good stuff here but really it’s three albums sort of sellotaped together. So I don’t sit down to and listen to it. But Dear Prudence and Blackbird mean it can’t be bottom for me.

With The Beatles (1963) - You Really Got A Hold on me is so good it should be the top album. But that’s too insane even for me. I Wanna Be Your Man, Please Mr Postman also iconic.

Magical Mystery Tour - some debate on if these two count as albums. But I happen to love MMT and IATW and FOTH. Amazing film that makes zero sense. Love that for us.

Yellow Submarine (1969) - I do have to say that Yellow Submarine was the first song I asked to own for myself. So the double red was the first album I got. I love it. Less sure on some of the others.

[en-somniac]

foThe lovely @smstransformers has tagged me, and so I must comply (you can just ASK FOR ANSWERS JAMES)

Name: Ari

Nickname: Voiding, Void, Quinacridone, Quin, Noct, Noctaroma, Ri, Ariririri, Crow-ri

Zodiac: Libra cusp!

Height: Just under 5′4

Languages: English. and passable Quebecois French

Nationality: Canadian

Favorite Season: winter because I am allergic to heat (not really I just hate it)

Favorite Flowers: Lavender (James knows my struggle with my poor lavender plant), as well as tulips and water lilies

Favorite Scent: coffee and lemon

Favorite Color: Ooff, too many. Probably a turquoise tinged violet if I had to choose

Favorite Animal: anyone who knows me has heard me talk about cats extensively, so probably them. (Sharks and hermit crabs are close seconds)

Favorite Fictional Characters: Suneater (BNHA), Dabi (BNHA), Joker (P5),  Sombra (Overwatch), Ahsoka (Star Wars), Candace (PnF), like the entire Batfam but especially Cassandra Cain and honestly probably a ton more I’m blanking on

Coffee, Tea, or Hot Coco: any of the three as long as they aren’t hot. I liked iced coffee, ice tea and chocolate milk. 

Sleep: Usually somewhere from 6-8 hours a night if its before a weekday and anywhere from 8-10 hours on a weekend.

Dog or Cat: both!! although I love cats, dogs are absolutely wonderful. I just happen to prefer studying feline behavior. 

Blankets: I have like six, one I’ve had for years. 

Dream Trip: if we’re talking about places I’ve never been - Japan, England, Machu Picchu. If we’re talking about places I have been and desperately want to go again - Iceland. Overall, if I had to go to only one, I’d go to Iceland again. 

Blog Established: 2014-15.. ish?? I’m not entirely sure. 

Random Fact: my eyes are slightly different colours. In certain light, one is very much green and the other is very blue. 

Gender: Agender, gender-nonconforming in dress style. I tend to prefer androgynous with a splash of heels. 

Hogwarts House: Slytherin!

Where I’m From: Canada

Why I made my blog: My friend’s ex-boyfriend thought I’d like tumblr and I wanted to know what everyone was talking about. 

Tagging - @foreverkeeperoftheuniverse @pokegeek151 @nemesisvariant @disillusioned--delusion (Cal your url look me a solid 5 minutes to type properly what the f u c k) (ps. anyone else who wants to do it n feels like they never get tagged in these)

[notnobody]

Every time you upload a new FOTH picture I write to all the people I know love pokemon to say "they did it again. It's yet another uncrochetable design, and they did it"

"dailypokemoncrochet?" they ask, and every time the answer is

"yes"

#770 Palossand

This looks like one of those fake surprise poses. Like when someone knows they're being thrown a surprise party and they practice their surprised expression in the mirror hahaha

[thelonelybrilliance]

1, 6, 11, 30 and. . . 43. :)

1. things that inspire you 

This whole ask is going to be Fixing on the Hour centric, I hope that’s OK–since I just finished it, it is at the forefront of my mind. :)

I answered this one before, but basically, memory and friendship and pain inspire me. Memories of beautiful places, trenchant writing, etc. Friendships that endure and provide a model for the beauty and imperfections of human relationships. And pain because pain brings realism to a story in a way that nothing else can. Sometimes I write the most painful scenes when I’m actually doing OK. It’s such a helpful way to let it all out.

6. how did writing change you?

Writing has improved me. I have grown so much and marked so many sign-posts along the way with writing. It’s given me a voice, and a place where I can be *too much*, overflowing with words, and nobody minds. Strangely enough people actually complimented me on this fic for not being overly wordy? PRAISE THE LORD.

11. do you listen to music when writing?’

Almost always. I love to set a mood. And to say, “hey, this scene was written to X song.” (Like Epilogue from La La Land, or Love Story by Taylor, or Changes in the Weather by Barefoot Truth–all soundtracks to the last few chapters).

30. hardest part of writing

I love this thing I saw on Tumblr once–something like, the writer’s dilemma is 1) time 2) inspiration 3) will to write–pick two. I think that pretty much sums it up. I wrote Fixing on the Hour while in the busiest two semesters of my life. Since I started in November and ended in May, it included TWO finals periods. I definitely wanted to write on FoTH–and sometimes did–when I had work to do. When I *did* have some free time, I sometimes struggled, just a little, to work on my fic…and watched Netflix instead. But writer’s block, thankfully, just wasn’t really a problem for this fic.

43. would you ever write a sequel for Fixing on the Hour?

Yes!! Pride & Prejudice ends in a way that wraps up a LOT of ground in a few pages…my own ending was similarly sweet but much simpler, in a way that some people may feel is rushed (some people apparently DO feel that way, but oh well). I’d love to write a sequel to Fixing on the Hour. It feels like such a successful project, for me, because I saw it through and I’m really happy with it and feel that it is consistent in quality and structure. I came to know and love the characters and want to write more for them. I can’t promise a quick timeline, but it really was a blast.

[homestudyhelp365-blog]

Are there any gaps in Shukla's game plan to conquer the globe

Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets

Project Report and Thesis contact

aravind.banakar@gmail.com

www.mbacasestudyanswers.com

ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224

  INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

 Section A (8 Marks Each) 1. (a) What are basic differences between domestic and international business?

(b) While some see globalization as the avenue to the development of poor nations, others see it intensifying misery and inequalities. Critically examine the above statement in today's context.

2. Explain the following: (a) Localisation of global strategy (b) Technology contracting (licensing) as an alternative to FDI or ownership strategy. (c) Major factors contributing to the success of international strategic alliances.

3. Explain the role of " Power Distance" in understanding Hofsted's work on cross-cultural prospective. How does this help in managing international environment?

4. Discuss the relationship between an MNE and its subsidiaries in the context of the "make or buy" decision. What are the implications so far as the organization structure/design is concerned?

5. (a) Explain the role of bargaining power" in managing negotiations in international business. (b) Briefly discuss the direct and indirect impacts of FDI on LDCs

  SECTION B (20 Marks Each Case)

6. Please read the following case study carefully and answer the questions given at the end. SEN-SCHWITZ To the Florid-faced German at Frankfurt Airport's immigration-counter, he appeared to be just another business traveller. True, but a bit of an understatement. The man under scrutiny was Binoy Sen, whom the Indian media referred to as the Boom-Box king. At 14, he had assembled, from parts scavenged from the local dump, a spool-recorder that had fitted nicely into a suitcase. By the time he time he was 37, in 1979, Sen & Sen (S&S), a company he had promoted with his elder brother, Sanjoy --- who made up for his lack of technical expertise

 AN ISO 9001 : 2008 CERTIFIED INSTITUTE Total Marks:1 00

with a razor sharp business brain --- was Asia's largest manufacturer of radios and cassette-recorders. Now, at 56, he presided over India's largest audio-Products Company. Sen-Schwitz, a joint venture with the Frankfurt-based consumer electronics giant, Schwitz GMBH. S&S association with Schwitz had actually begun in 1984. Music had become a movement in Europe at that time, with immigrant labour of all colour and teenagers of all sizes constituting market-segments that no company could afford to ignore. But their means were slender, and intensity of output, rather than nuances of pitch and tone, was what they were concerned about. Since assembling was a labour and cost intensive process, at least in Europe, Schwitz could not manufacture low-end boom-boxes cheaply. So, the company turned to Asia, where it was certain some Chinese or Taiwanese company could meet its requirements. None could. However, on a reach of Taiwan, one of the company's managers had spotted a couple of S&S products at a retail outlet. While this Indo-German relationship had begun as a vendor-buyer one, Helmut Schwitz, 51, the CEO of Schwitz --- no relation of Adolf Schwitz, who had founded the company just after the end of World War II --- took an instant liking to the Sen brothers. Two years after S&S started supplying it products, in 1986, the German company acquired a 10 per cent stake in its Indian supplier. IN 1992, when Schwitz released that he could no longer ignore the Indian market and the Sens accepted the fact that they couldn't survive the threat from global competition without technology and marketing support from their German Partner, they formed a formal joint venture. The Sens and the German company both held 26 per cent stakes in Sen-Schwitz, with the rest being divided between the financial institutions and the investing. The joint venture did well right from its inception. The transnational's superior quality standards and S&S strong distribution network worked wonders. Within 2 years, the company had managed to carve out a 45 per cent share of the Rs. 795-crore market. The Sens were happy and so was Schwitz. By 1998, Sen Schwitz's share had increased to 65 per cent in a market that had grown to Rs. 1,150 crore, And when Sen reached Frankfurt for the annual review of the joint venture that Schwitz GMBH insisted on --- the company had 7 joint ventures across Asia and Latin America --- he could not but help feeling that all was well with the world of music and money. Sen's feelings were only amplified during the review. After the preliminary greetings, Helmut Schwiz took the oais. The room darkened, and a series of PowerPoint images flashed on the screen behind Schwiz as he spoke. Sen caught only fragments of the German's heavily accented voice, his attention was focused on the images and the bullets of text they contained. Sen scrawled a few of them on his notepad * A turnover of $ 100 billion by 2005 * AQ growth - rate of 20 per cent a year. * 35 per cent of the growth coming from India and China Then. Schwiz started speaking about India and Sen's attention moved from the screen to the man. What he heard pleased him. "Sen-Schwiz has a marketshare of 65 per cent in a market that is growing at the rate of 30 per cent a year. As far as our targets for 2005 go, we believe that it is our most promising joint venture." The blow fell later, during the break for lunch. Sen and Chris Liu who headed the company's joint venture in Taiwan, were exchanging notes when Schwiz butted in and, in his characteristic overbearing fashion, quickly monoeuvrec Sen to one corner of the room. "India is, clearly, the market of the future, Binoy," he said, biting into a roll. "You're doing a great job, and can expect support from me for all your endeavours. But I'm worried about your margins." Here it comes, thought Sen, the twist in the tall. "A post tax margin of 8 per cent doesn't look too good," continued Schwiz, "especially when seen in the light of rising volumes. We should take a fresh look at our Indian operations, why don't you meet with Andrew?" Suddenly, Sen was on guard. The 55 year old Andrew Fotheringay was Schwiz's President (International Operations). Sen liked him; they had worked together when the joint venture was being set up, and had been impressed by his eye for detail. But he also knew that Fotheringay was Schwiz's hatchetman. "What's on your mind, Helmut ?" he asked point-blank "oh, nothing yet," replied Schwiz, "but we have to find a way to introduce more products into the Indian market without stretching Sen-Schwitz, Talk to Andrew." That wasn't to be Fotheringay, whose wife was 9 months pregnant, had to suddenly leave for London, but promised to fly down to Calcutta, where Sen-Schwitz was based as soon as the baby was born. Now, Sen was sure that something was up : Fotheringay wasn't the kind of manager to do something like that for nothing. Sen voiced his fears at a meeting of the Sen-Schwitz board, which had been scheduled on the day of his return. One of the board members, R. Raghavan, 53 a professor of corporate strategy at the Indian Institute of Management, Gauhati, felt that Sen was over reaching I don't think it is quite what you think, Sanjoy he started although Sen hadn't put any specifics to his fears. "Sen-Schwitz is, as BUSINESS TODAY keeps reminding us, evidence that there is, indeed, scope for a win-win joint venture even in the Indian context." He was wrong. Sure, the joint venture has benefited from the German parent's technical expertise. In turn Schwitz GMBH had profited substantially from Sen Schwitz's dividend pay-outs : more than 25 per cent every year. Werner Kohl, 48 Sen Schwitz's Technical Director, seemed to agree with the professor. Kohl was a Schwitz nominee on the board, and had been a Vice-president (Operations) at the transnational's Hamburg plant before being seconded to Sen-Schwitz for a 5 year period. But Kohl Sen knew was not likely to know what was happening back home. The one person who agred with Sen was Rajesh Jain 44, the IDBI nominee on the board, who expressed the opinion that Schwiz GMBH could possiibly, be planning another joint venture with some other company. That sounded far-fetched even to Sen. Sen-Schwitz's closest per cent. Besides, no company could match Sen-Schwitz;'s distribution network. So, he decided to let his fears abate till Fotneringay could either dispet them --- or make them come alive. True to his word, Fotheringay, now the proud father of his first daughter landed up in Calcutta a week later. He first met the company's functional heads, and gave them a pep talk: " Sen-Schwitz's volumes-thrust should be backed by a profitability focus. Once we ensure margins of 13 to 15 per cent, we will be on our way."  Alone with Sen, though, Fotheringay quickly laid his cards on the table. Schwitz, he informed Sen, wished to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in the country. Sen's mind was, suddenly, clear. He had been a fool not to see it coming. All that talk about restructuring the joint venture, introducing newer models, and the need for higher margins led up to just one thing: a fully-owned Schwiz subsidiary." So what does this mean for us, Andrew," he asked, "Is this advance warning about a parting of ways?" Fotheringay was quick to dispel this notion. "The subsidiary will not compromise the interests of the joint venture. Schwitz has a long-term commitment to the India market, and this subsidiary is just a step in that director." All this talk-about commitment, realized Sen, was taking them nowhere. He sounded just a little imitated when he spoke: "I just can't understand why you people are even considering a subsidiary when the joint venture has been so successful. We have a great brand, good products, the finest distribution network in the business, and an excellent supply chain Together, we have created a matrix that has delivered. Why does Schwitz want to reinvent the wheel?" Fotheringay's answers didn't satisfy him. He made some noises about the subsidiary taking upon itself a large portion of the expenses involved in building the Sen-Schwitz brand, thereby reducing its operational expenses, and improving its margins. Sen was quick to point out that the Government of India did not view proposals for fully-owned marketing subsidiaries favourably. "Besides, does this mean that we transfer our marketing and distribution network to the subsidiary?" he asked incredulously. Fotheringay side-stepped the issue: "No, no, the subsidiary will only manufacturer products." Reading the look on Sen's face, he hastened to enumerate Schwitz's gameplan: 'Of course, none of our offerings will complete directly with Sen-Schwitz As you are aware,the audio systems market is fairly segmented, so there is a great deal of potential for new offerings. We want to set up a committee from Sen-Schwitz and Schwitz to decide on the respective roadmaps of the joint venture and the subsidiary so as to avoid any conflict." "That apart," he smiled, here comes the carrot, thought Sen and he wasn't wrong,"the Sens will have the option to buy upto 49 per cent of the subsidiary's equity when it goes in for an IPO." The subsidiary is not even off the ground, thought Sen and Andrew is already speaking in terms of US and THEM Fotheringay took Sen's silence to mean acceptance."The other reason," he continued, "is that we cam use the subsidiary to introduce our premium brands into the country. There is evidence that the market for premium audio-systems is all set to boom. Think about it, Binoy. The subsidiary will only strengthen the strategic relationship between the Sens and Schwitz GMBH." The Sens aren't involved, thought Sen; this is an issue that concern Sen-Schwiz andSchqitz. But he didn't want to split hairs, and promised, instead, to think about it. Sen-Schwitz's Executive Committee thought about it for 3 months. And it still didn't make sense to them. Schwitz GMBH operated through joint ventures in every part of the developing world. Only in the US, UK, and France did it have fully-owned subsidiaries, using the subsidiary as a sink that would absorb the joint venture's marketing expenses didn't make sense too.

"It sounds altruistic," said V.K. Kapur, 44, the company's head of marketing. "If launching more products is the only behind the subsidiary, there is no reason why the joint venture cannot serve that purpose." Sen and the rest of the Committee had to agree. "There's also no reason why we cannot improve our margins by focusing on our operational efficiencies," argued Ajay Singh, 46, Sen Schwitz Director, operations, and Sen had to agree. He decided to discuss the matter with Sanjoy, who had retired from the business, and was involved in managing a charity. But Sen didn't get a chance. News-agency had picked up a report that had appeared in the Financial Times Schwitz's decision to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India. The report created a major stir in the Bombay stock Exchange, with the price of Sen-Schwitz's stock falling by 30 per cent a day. It was evident to Sen that no matter what Fotheringay and Schwitz thought, the stock-market perceived the subsidiary as a threat to the joint venture. It was also evident that the stock-market viewed Schwitz as the more valuable brand."I understand,"Sanjoy told Binoy, when the situation had been explained to him. The technology is Schwitz's. The brand, at least the more powerful one, is theirs. And they have access to our distribution network. Face it, we don't have a plank to fight on."

 Questions:

(a) Identify the sequence of events that has led to the current problem.

(b) Analyse the problem in the context of the process of globalization that has been increasingly witnesses over the past decade or so.

(c) Examine the "fairness" of establishing a 100% subsidiary by Schwitz GMBH when the alliance is on.

(d) What future course of action would you suggest to S&S? Give reasons for your answer.

7. Please read the following case study carefully and answer the questions given at the end.

 Sunlight Chemicals Starting at the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea from his comer office at Bombay's Nariman Point, Ramcharan Shukla the 53-year old executive vice-chairman and managing Director of the 500-crore Sunlight Chemicals. (Sunlight felt both adventurous and apprehensive. He knew he had to quicken the global strides Sunlight had made in the last four years if the company was to benefit from its early gains in the world markets. However, he was also shaken by a doubt: would his strategy of prising open international markets by leveraging the talents of a breed of managers with transnational competencies succeed? Globalisation had been an integral part of Sunlight's business plans ever since Shukla took over as managing director in 1990 with the aim of making it the country's first international chemicals major Since then Sunlight --- the country's third-largest chemicals maker --- had developed export markets in as many as 40 markets, with international revenues contributing 40 per cent of its Rs. 500 crore turnover in 1994-95. The company also set up manufacturing bases in eight countries --- most recently in China's Shenzhen free trade zone --- manned by a mix of local and Indian employees. These efforts at going global first took shape in December 1991 when Shukla, after months of deliberations with his senior management team, outlined Sunlight's Vision 2001 statement. It read " "We will achieve a turnover of $ 1 billion by 2001 by tapping global markets and developing new products." The statement was well-received both within and outside the company. The former CEO of a competitor had said in a newspaper report: "Shukla has nearly sensed the pressures of operating in a new trade with a tough patents regime." But Shukla also realised that global expertise could not be developed overnight. Accordingly, to force the company out of an India-centric mindset, he started a process of business restructuring. So, the company's business earlier divided into domestic and export divisions, was now split into five areas: Are I (India and China), Area 2 (Europe and Russia), Area 3 (Asia Pacific), Area 4 (US) and Area 5 (Africa and South America). Initially managers were incredulous, with one senior manager saying: "This is crazy. It lacks a sense of proportion." The Cynicism was not misplaced. After all, the domestic market --- which then contributed over 90 per cent of the company's turnover --- had not only been dubbed with the Chinese market, but had also been brought at par with the areas whose collective contributions to the turnover was below 10 per cent Shukla's explanation, presented in an interview to a business magazine: "Actually, the rationale is quite simple and logical. We took a look at how the market mix would evolve a decade from now and then created a matrix to suit that mix. Of course, we will also set up manufacturing facilities in each of these areas to change the sales-mix altogether." He wasn't wrong. Two years later, even as the first manufacturing facility in Vietnam was about to go on stream, the overseas areas' contribution to revenues rose to 20 per cent. And the mood of the management changed with the growing conviction that export income would spoon surpass domestic turnover. Almost simultaneously, Shukla told his senior managers that the process of building global markets could materialise only if the organisation became fat flexible, and fleet-footed. Avinash Dwivedi, am management consultant brought in to oversee Sunlight's restructuring exercise, told the board of directors: "Hierachies built up over the years have blunted the company's reflexes, and this is a disadvantage while working in the competitive global markets." The selection of vice-president for the newly-constituted regions posed no immediate problem. For Sunlight had several general managers --- from both arms of marketing and manufacturing -- whose thinking had been shaped by the company's long exposure to the export markets. For obvicus reasons, the ability to build markets was the primary criterion for selection. The second criterion was a broad business perspective with a multi-functional, multi-market exposure. That was because Shukla felt it did not make good business sense to send a battalion of functional managers to foreign markets when two or three business managers could suffice. But Specific markets also needed specific competencies. That was how Sunlight chose to appoint a South African national to head Area 5. The logic" only a local CEO could keep track of changes in regulations and gauge the potential of the booming chemicals market in the US. However, the effort was always focused on using in-house talent. Shukla put it to his management team: "We should groom managerial talent --- whether local or expatriate --- for all our overseas operations from within the company and should rotate this expertise worldwide. In essence, we should develop global managers within the company." While doing the personnel planning for each area and fixing the compensation packages for overseas Assignment. Sunlight realised the importance of human resource (HR) initiatives. The HR division headed by vice president Hoseph Negi, had been hobbled for years with industrial relations problems caused by the unionisation of the salesforce, " You have to move in step with the company's global strategy." Shukla had told his HR managers at a training session organised by Dwivedi who was spearheading the task of grooming global managers. Four years down the line, Shukla felt that Sunlight was still finding its way around the task Sure, a system was in place. Depending on the requirements of each of the four areas, Sunlight had started recruiting between 25 and 30 MBAs every year from the country's leading management institutes. During the first six months, these young managers were given cross-functional training, including classroom and on-the-job inputs. The training was then followed by a placement dialogue to determine the manager -area fit. If a candidate were to land, for instance, on the Asia-Pacific desk at the head office, he would be assigned a small region, say, Singapore, and would be responsible for the entire gamut of brand-building for a period of one year in coordination with the regional vice-president. The success with which he would complete his task would decide his next job: the first full-time overseas posting. He could be appointed as the area head of, say, Vietnam, which was equivalent to an area sales manager in the home market. After a couple of years, he would return to base for a placement in brand management or finance. A couple of years later, the same manager could well be in charge of a region in a particular area. Over the past four years. Sunlight had developed 30 odd potential global managers in the company spanning various regions using this system. But, considering that the grooming programme was only three years old, Shukla felt that it would take some time for the company's homespun managers to handle larger markets like China on their own. The real problem in this programme was in matching the manager to the market. Dwivedi suggested a triangular approach to get the right fit: define the business target for a market in an area. Look at the candidiate's past Performance in the market, And identify the key individual characteristics for that market. Dwivedi also identified another criterion: a good performance rating at home during the previous two years. Once selected for an overseas posting, the candidate would be given cross-cultural training: a course in foreign languages, interactive programmes with repatriated managers on the nature of the assignment and, often, personality development programmes on the nuances of country business etiquette. Further, an overseas manager would be appraised on two factors: the degree to which he had met his business plan targets for the market, and the extent to which he had developed his team. After all, he had to cachet the posting within three years to make place for his replacement. Achievements were weighed quarterly and annually against sales targets set at the beginning of the year by the vice-president of the region. The appraisal would then be sent to the corporate headquarters in Bombay for review by the senior management committee. Shukla had often heard his senior managers talk appreciatively of the benefits of transrepatriation. "The first batch of returnees are more patient tolerant and manure than when they left home," said Manohar Vishwas, vice-president (finance),"and they handle people better." But the litmus test for the company, Shukla felt would be in managing a foreign workforce --- across diverse cultures --- at the manufacturing facilities in six countries outside India. The Shenzhen unit, for instance had 220 employees, out of which only 10 were expatriate Indians. Further, the six-member top management team had only two Indians. Of course, the mix had been dictated by the country's laws and language considerations. Some of the African markets had their own peculiarities. The entire team of medical representatives, for example, comprised fully-quilifies, professional doctors. Sharad Saxena, vice-president, Area 5, told Shukla: "As there is heavy unemployment in Africa doctors are attracted to field sales work for higher earnings." There were other problems too: as both Chinese and Russian had been brought up on a diet of socialism, they were not used to displaying initiative at the workplace. Dwivedi had suggested that regular training was one of the ways of transforming the workforce. So, Shukla hired a training group from Delhi's Institute of Human Resource Management training to spend a month at Shenzhen. This was later incorporated as an annual exercise. Observing that interpersonal conflicts were common in situation where with single-country background were working together, a new organizational structure was introduced. Here, Sunlight positioned local managers was introduced. Here, Sunlight positioned local managers between an Indian boss and subordinate. Similarly, some Indian managers were positioned between a local boss and subordinate. Says Avishek Acharya vice-president, Area 3: "There were some uncomfortable moments, but it led to a better integration or management principles, work practices, and ethics." Obviously, reflected Shukla, Dwivedi was doing a great job. As he watched the setting sun, however, he found his thoughts turning to a more fundamental question. However immaculate his HR planning had been, had he made a mistake by not developing his strategies first? Was he mixing up his priorities by putting people management" ahead of issues like marketing, technology, and global trade? Even the HR strategy he had chosen worried Shukla. Should he have opted for more locals in each country? If expatriate managers failed more often than they succeeded in India wasn't the same true for other countries?

 Questions: 1. Is Sunlight on the right track in going global without trying to consolidate its position further in the home market?

2. Can Sunlight realise its global vision with its current mix of strategies? However fine the company's HR planning had been, had Shukla made a mistake by not developing his strategies first?

3. Are there any gaps in Shukla's game plan to conquer the globe?

4. What are the learnings that you can derive from the "Sunlight" case so far as the internationalization of business is concerned?

 8) Please read the following case study carefully and answer the questions given at the end:

Electrolux Electrolux is Sweden's largest manufacturer of electrical household appliances and was one of the world's pioneers in the marketing of vacuum cleaners. However, not all the products the Electrolux name are controlled by the Swedish firm. Electrolux vacuum cleaner sold and manufacturer in the United States, for example, have not been connected with the Swedish Firm since the U.S subsidiaries were sold in the 1960s. The Swedish Firm reentered the U.S. market in 1974 by purchasing National Union Electric, which manufacturers Eureka vacuum cleaners. Electrolux pursued its early international expansion largely to gain economies of scale through additional sales. The Swedish market was simply too small to absorb fixed costs as much as the home markets for competitive firms from larger countries. When additional sales were not possible by exporting, Electrolux was still able to gain certain scale economies through the establishment of foreign production. Research and development expenditures and certain administrative costs could thus be spread out over the additional sales made possible by foreign operations. Additionally, Electrolux concentrated on standardized production to achieve further scale economies and rationalization of parts. Until the late 1960s, Electrolux concentrated primarily on vacuum cleaners and the building of its own facilities in order to effect expansion. Throughout the 1970s, though, the firm expanded largely by acquiring existing firms whose product lines differed from those of Electrolux. The compelling force was to add appliances lines to complement those developed internally. Its recent profits ($220 million in 1983) have enabled Electrolux to go an acquisitions binge. Electrolux acquired two Swedish firms that made home appliances and washing machines. Electrolux management felt that it could use its existing foreign sales networks to increase the sales of those firms in 1973, Electrolux acquired another Swedish firm, Facit, which already had extensive foreign sales and facilities. Vacuum cleaner producers were acquired in the United States and in France; and to gain captive sales for vacuum cleaner. Electrolux acquired commercial cleaning service firms in Sweden and in the United States. A French Kitchen equipment producer, Arthur Martin, was bought, as was a Swiss home appliance firm. Therma, and a U.S. cooking equipment manufacturer, Tappan. Except the Facit purchase, the above acquisitions all involved firms that produced complementary lines that would enable the new parent to gain certain scale economies, However, not all the products of acquired firms were related, and Electrolux sought to sell off unrelated businesses. In 1978 for example, a Swedish firm, Husgvarna, was bought because of its kitchen equipment lines. Electrolux was able to sell Husqvarna's motorcycle line but could not get a good price for the chain saw facility. Reconciled to being in the chain saw business. Electrolux then acquired chain saw manufacturers in Canada and Norway, thus becoming one of the world's largest chain saw producers. The above are merely the most significant. Electrolux acquisitions: the firm made approximately fifty acquisitions in the 1970s. In 1980, Electrolux announced a takeover that was very different from those of the 1970s. It offered $175 million, the biggest Electrolux acquisition, for Granges Sweden's leading metal producer and fabrication Granges was itself a multinational firm (1979 sales of $ 1.2 billion) and made about 50 percent of its sales outside of Sweden. The managing Directors of the two firms indicated that the major advantage of the takeover would be the integration of Granges aluminum, copper plastic, and other materials into Electrolux production of appliances. Many analysts felt that the timing of Electrolux's bid was based on indications that Baijerinvest, a large Swedish conglomerate, wished to acquire a non--ferrous matels mining company. Other analysis felt that Elctrolux would be better off to continue international horizontal expansion as it had in the 1970s. The analysts pointed to large appliance makers such as AEG Telefunken of West Germany that were likely candidates for takeover because of recent poor performance.

 Questions:

1. What are Electrolux’s reasons for direct investment?

2. How has Electrolux's strategy changed over time? How has this affected its direct investment activities?

3. Which of Electrolux's foreign investments would be horizontal and which would be vertical? What are the advantages of each?

4. What do you see as the main advantages and possible problems of expanding internationally primarily through acquisitions as opposed to building one's own facilities?

5. Should Electrolux take over Granges?

 Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets

Project Report and Thesis contact

aravind.banakar@gmail.com

www.mbacasestudyanswers.com

ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224

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[focusontheheart]

I'm so excited to start playing foth 🤩 will it be released at a specific time on friday? Thank you all for your hard work 😘

We will have a post for the game release that includes the link to our itch.io page at 8AM EST on Friday!! 💘

We hope you'll enjoy playing, and finding the easter egg too, if you can!!

[focusontheheart]

Just finished playing Talanah's route and my goodness I cannot even fathom the amount of effort that y'all must have put into this visual novel. So, so grateful to the team for putting it together!!! Thank you so much!!

I am curious about something, though! I don't know if this has been asked, but is there a plan to put out guides or something like that to show players how to unlock all the images in a character's album? I'm missing the very last one for Talanah and am so very curious!

Thank you for the kind words!! We're so happy you've been enjoying the Talanah route, Meg and Foibs poured so much love into the writing and art for our favorite Sunhawk!

We do have plans for Route Guides for how to unlock all the special art/ what the good, neutral, and bad options are for all the flashpoints, sometime in the future. Until then, we hope you'll have fun working out what choices affect the script and possibly unlock the CG before then!

We also have future plans for a proper thank-you and showcase of the special art per route to all the external artists who pitched in to help, so stay tuned!

[focusontheheart]

OH MY GOD!!! The game is AMAZING!!! I can't believe the detail, skill, and love that went into this game and I've only finished one play through so far (Talanah - and the writing for it was so, so good!!) <3

Can't wait to play through the others, but wanted to drop in some complements before the rest of the day vanished off with Aloy's love life lmaooo. It is SUCH a good continuation from HFW thanks to ALL the creators who must've put a monumental amount of work into such a wonderful game <3 <3 <3

We're so happy that you're having a wonderful time!! It is so good to see that you're all enjoying the little details that came together to make our game what it is -- we're very proud of all the hard work that the team put in! 🥰

It's so wonderful to hear that you'll be exploring the other routes! Please do keep using our #FOTHreact and #FOTH[character] tags as you play, it's very exciting stuff for us to see what you think!!

Thank you so so much for the love and compliments, and happy playing on the other routes!! 💘

[focusontheheart]

I am in LOVE with your game! I only stopped playing today to fulfill my essential human needs. You’ve all done such an amazing job with the text, backdrops, music, and all the characters! I have finished two routes so far (Talanah and Drakka) and I’m currently playing the Petra one. I’m dedicated to finishing all of them to see all the hard work you’ve put into FOTH. They're all so captivating and the collectables are absolutely stunning! I already know I'll be replaying this as soon as I finish all of the storylines. I still haven't gotten THE endings, but I also haven't gotten the bad ones. One more reason to do it all over again (gladly of course)! Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making such an amazing game!!! I can't wait to play more of it tomorrow! I hope you all know how proud of yourselves you should be for undertaking and finishing such a project. Not to mention how well done it is! Congrats once again! 💖💖💖

Oh my goodness, please stay hydrated and have lots of snacks at the ready!! We're absolutely tickled pink that you're enjoying the game so much -- so many big props to the team effort it took to bring everything together.

We're so excited that you're playing the various routes, please do use our tags/ send in more asks here to let us know what you think!! We're sharing all the positivity in our dev server, and we could not be happier that everyone is having such a good time. 🥰

It's wonderful to see & hear that the replay value is so good already, especially to see the script variances & get all the different endings. (There's also an easter egg ending if you're keen enough to find it! 👀)

We're all still in a bit of a fugue state -- the adrenaline is just starting to wear off, then we see more reactions and get hyped again that so many of you are having fun playing! We're all so incredibly proud of the team and what we've accomplished; this is truly a unique fandom experience to be a part of. We hope you continue to enjoy this love letter from us to you, to fandom, and to these characters 💘💘

[focusontheheart]

tumblr blog foth i thought you’d be delighted to know that you are the sole reason i’m booting up my old pc that needs to be plugged in at all times because it doesn’t charge and it just. barely works. anyway !! can’t wait to romance my favs 🥰

(on a serious note, this is such a cool thing and i can’t imagine the time and effort poured into it by all the devs. can’t wait to see you on may’s community spotlight !! (if you are. you really should.))

Delighted?? More than delighted, we're over the moon!! (Hope your computer can hold up!) We can't wait for you to romance your faves too; we hope you enjoy this love letter to the characters and the fandom!! 🥰

Everything feels so surreal right now for us, that a year of work has produced something as impossibly cool as this project. We're zooming around the walls in all our respective places just as much as we bet you all are too to finally be able to play! (and oh gosh, you flatter us. That would be something beyond our wildest imaginations.)

We hope you have fun playing!! 💘

[focusontheheart]

I’d like to say as someone who is excited for this project: Take as long as you need. I think its better if everyone involved delivers a product about which they feel good, even if it���s not perfect. You guys have established a deadline, but I for one would not mind if it was moved to accomodate. Cause in the end its a passion project. I am wishing you all the best on this and looking forward to playing all the routes!

Thank you so much for your kind words!

We're looking to bring you and the fandom the best game we can deliver, and your faith and excitement in us is very heartening and heartwarming. 🥰

We're at a bit of a quiet spot right now development-wise with bringing everything together, so there isn't as much content to share as we'd like to. But when we have some more sneak peeks to share, we hope it inspires the same excitement in you to play that creating and working on this fangame does for us. 💘

In the meantime, keep an eye on our socials in the coming weeks, we hope to share some fun stuff soon!

[focusontheheart]

Just wanted to say that this game is absolutely wonderful!!! Everything is absolutely amazing the writing, the art, the music, everything 💙 I find it truly amazing that so many wonderful and talented people from different ships came together and work very hard on this absolute masterpiece 💙 I can't wait to explore all the routes 💙

Thank you so much for the compliments!! Really, it's making us blush 🥰

We are so so proud of the team for all the work they've poured into everything: how the art and writing teams coordinated together with the skeleton framework the leads provided to bring all kinds of stories to the table. Every route truly has something different to offer!

We're also very thankful to all the external artists who provided the special art for the different routes as well!! (We'll be doing a proper thank-you and showcase of the CG art when our spoiler embargo lifts on Jun 24!)

We wish you happy playing on the other routes, and hope you manage to get some smooches! 💘