Samsonite: Case Study

This case study aimed at shedding light on the new emerging trends of business observed in the Asian region. Today, big multinationals are learning from Asia and applying best practices, developed in this continent, in their operations worldwide spanning from USA, South America and Europe. In particular, this case study paid focus on the strategy adopted by Timothy Charles Parker, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Samsonite International S.A, incorporated in March 2011. It also focused on the turnaround strategy applied by him for the Samsonite (Luggage Company). Charles Parker is a man with a reputation for turning around companies from losses to prof itability. He was put in charge by the Board to revive Samsonite that was continuously losing its strength and market share in the year of 2009. From this perspective, this study tried to explore the methodology adopted by Timothy Charles Parker to successfully revive the company. It is also noteworthy to note how Timothy Charles Parker paid careful attention to the integration strategy by Ramesh Tainwala in India to support the Samsonite operations in American and European operations. Furthermore, Asian region was also used for tapping funds from the stock market because of damage to the brand equity of Samsonite in the developed markets. Within the period of merely seven years, Samsonite is now one of the most thriving and successful luggage companies in the world and its share is most sought after in Hong Kong stock market. Based on the studies case, it can be recommended that management practices developed in Asian region can also be adopted in order to revive

Working Capital Management and Performance of SME Sector

The study investigates the influence of working capital management (WCM) on performance of small medium enterprises (SME’s) in Pakistan. The duration of the study is seven years from 2006 to 2012. The data used in this study was taken from different sources i.e. SMEDA, Karachi Stock Exchange, tax offices, company itself and Bloom burgee business week. Data of SME’s acquired from these sources forms the foundation of our calculation and then interpretation. As the data was gathered for a period of seven years i.e. 2006-2012, the reason for choosing this period was because of the availability of the latest data. The dependent variable of the study is Return on assets which is used as a proxy for profitability.  Independent variables were number of days account receivable, number of day’s inventory, cash conversion cycle (CCC) and number of days account payable. In addition to these variables some other variables were used which includes firm size, leverage and growth. Panal data technique is used to study the influence of WCM on profitability of SME’s. Results suggest that number of day’s accounts payable has positive association with profitability whereas average collection period, inventory turnover and CCC have inverse relation with performance. On the other hand the variable size and growth in sales has positive influence on profitability. In contrast debt ratio has negative impact on profitability. Keywords: Cash Conversion Cycle, Working Capital Management, SME’

Preparation and Physical Properties of Functional Barium Carbonate Nanostructures by a Facile Composite-Hydroxide-Mediated Route

In recent years, nanotechnology has given birth to numerous nanomaterials due to their increased use in various sectors of research and development. To produce these nanomaterials, nanotechnology further has opened several rooms for the potential novel methods. Composite-hydroxide-mediated (CHM) method is one of the recent chemical synthesis routes that have gained considerable importance in research due to their effortlessness and versatile nature, covering a broad range of nanomaterials to prepare

Evaluating Causes of Delay in Construction Projects of Pakistan

A project takes extra time for completion is called delay. Schedule delay in construction industry is a global phenomenon. Schedule delay is the time overrun either beyond completion date specified in the contract, or beyond the date that the parties agreed upon for the delivery of the project. There are some hurdles causes project delay are called delay causes or factors. The study examines the fifty four delay causes in forty two first class construction firms of Pakistan. Study categorizes these fifty four delay causes in seven groups: (1) Owner related (2) Consultant related (3) Contractor related (4) Material related (5) Labor and equipment related (6) project related and (7) External related. Study use questionnaire for collection of feedback of different professionals. In total sixty questionnaires were sent to forty-two first class firms, out of which forty one responded with sixty nine percent of response rate. Severity index, frequency index, relative importance index and weighted median tools of descriptive statistics uses for analyzing data. From weighted median study conclude that owner related and external related delay groups have maximum impact over project schedule delay. Top five delay causes using severity index were (1) Poor site management and Supervision (2) improper project feasibility study (3) Delay in finance and payments by owner (4) Inadequate experience of consultant and Rework due to errors during construction (5) Difficulties in financing project by contractor, Unqualified workforce and effects of subsurface conditions. Using frequency index top five delay causes were 1) Delay in finance and payments by owner (2) Delay in getting work permit (3) Bureaucracy (4)  Slow decision making and Unrealistic inspection and testing methods proposed in contract (5) Slow permit by government. While according to RII top delay causes were (1) Delay in Finance and Payments by owner (2) poor site management and supervision (3) Delay in getting work permit from local govt authorities (4) Unqualified workforce (5) Slow decision making. Keywords: Construction delays, types of delays, Disputes, Statistical analysis

Synthesis and doping feasibility of composite-hydroxide-mediated approach for the Cu1-xZnxO nanomaterials

In this article, we report feasibility of composite hydroxide-mediated (CHM) approach for the synthesis and doping of Cu1-xZnxO (x=0%, 3%, 6% and 9%) nanomaterial. The proposed method offers a low cost, low temperature and environmentally friendly approach to preparing doped nanomaterials in a feasible and cost- effective route. Further, we investigate the effect of incorporated Zn +2 on the properties of produced Cu (II) O nanostructures. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirms formation of the single-phase monoclinic Cu (II) O and incorporation of Zn at the Cu-lattice sites. The crystalline structure is improved and the average grain size has increased from 85.32 nm to 124.86 nm. FTIR spectroscopy shows characteristic vibrational peaks of the Cu (II)-O bonding which confirms formation of the Cu (II) O. SEM micrographs reveal interesting flower like dense features with morphological peculiarities and seems to strongly depend on the content of the incorporated Zn +2 . The UV- visible spectra are measured to study the direct bandgap of the prepared nanomaterial. The direct bandgap found to be in the range of 3.73 - 3.89 eV. The method seems experimentally friendly and provides a feasible and a high productive fast synthesis route for the doped oxide nanomaterials in a single step with tunable properties for the research purposes. However, the method still requires further investigation to finely control doping for the desired properties of a nanomaterial and to give a potential avenue for further practical scale-up of the production process and applications of novel devices based on doped nanostructures

Samsonite: Case Study

This case study aimed at shedding light on the new emerging trends of business observed in the Asian region. Today, big multinationals are learning from Asia and applying best practices, developed in this continent, in their operations worldwide spanning from USA, South America and Europe. In particular, this case study paid focus on the strategy adopted by Timothy Charles Parker, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Samsonite International S.A, incorporated in March 2011. It also focused on the turnaround strategy applied by him for the Samsonite (Luggage Company). Charles Parker is a man with a reputation for turning around companies from losses to prof itability. He was put in charge by the Board to revive Samsonite that was continuously losing its strength and market share in the year of 2009. From this perspective, this study tried to explore the methodology adopted by Timothy Charles Parker to successfully revive the company. It is also noteworthy to note how Timothy Charles Parker paid careful attention to the integration strategy by Ramesh Tainwala in India to support the Samsonite operations in American and European operations. Furthermore, Asian region was also used for tapping funds from the stock market because of damage to the brand equity of Samsonite in the developed markets. Within the period of merely seven years, Samsonite is now one of the most thriving and successful luggage companies in the world and its share is most sought after in Hong Kong stock market. Based on the studies case, it can be recommended that management practices developed in Asian region can also be adopted in order to revive

Stock Market Reaction to Political Events (Evidence from Pakistan)

This study examines the impact of events of different nature like: political, natural calamities and terrorism on the share prices of the financial sector of Pakistan. A sample of 14 companies are selected randomly from the financial sector (Insurance and Banking) listed on the KSE-100 index. The time span is of four years i-e 2007-10. The data is analyzed through paired samples t-test statistics. The results indicate that events have significant impact on the stock prices and prices behave negatively when a major event emerges on national or international front. A joint effort is required from different individuals, stake holders, regulators, economists, investors, government and foreign officials to secure the effectiveness of the financial market in Pakistan from the curse of political pressure, terrorists and suicidal bombing which in return help in the prosperity of the country. To encourage and motivate the investors both domestically or internationally the governance system in country should be fair and transparent and secure environment would increase the morale of the investors. Keywords: Paired sample t-test statistics; Events study Method Approach, Stock Price

Epidemiology and Economic Benefits of Treating Goat Coccidiosis

A study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Eimeria species and to compare the efficacy of Toltrazuril and Amprolium against coccidosis. Of the total 121 fecal samples examined for Eimeria, 67 (55.99%) were found infected with four species of Eimeria. Amongst the identified species, E. ninakohlyakimovae was the commonest one (49.25%) followed were E. arloingi, E. caprina and E. hirci with prevalence of 44.78, 25.37 and 19.40%, respectively. Kids had significantly (P<0.05) higher prevalence of Eimeria than adults. Higher prevalence of Eimeria was observed in female goats. Forty five Eimeria positive animals were randomly divided into three equal groups, i.e., groups A to C. Group A was treated with Amprolium (2g/40kg BW) and group B was treated with Toltrazuril (15mg/kg BW) for three days each while no drug was given to Group C. On day 7 post treatment, all goats of group B stopped shedding oocysts while 8 (53.33%) goats of group A stopped shedding oocysts. After the treatment, goats of group B gained 2.2 kg body weight over a period of 15 days compared 1.2 kg weight in group A. The lowest weight gain (0.5 kg) was in goats of group C (untreated control). No significant difference in milk yield of the three groups was recorded. It can be concluded that control of goat coccidiosis through single treatment of Toltrazuril is economically beneficial

Cost Benefits Analysis of Anthelmintic Treatment of Cattle and Buffaloes

A study was carried out to determine the point prevalence of various helminths of cattle and buffalo population of district Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan and economic benefits of deworming with oxyclozanide. Out of 540 fecal samples examined, 205 (37.96%) were found infected with helminths. Significantly higher (OR=2.2; P<0.05) prevalence of helminths was recorded in buffaloes (40%; 112/280) as compared to cattle (35.77%; 93/260). Oesophagostomum, Cooperia, Trichostrongylus, Strongyloide, Ostertagia, Fasciola (F.) hepatica, F. gigantica and Haemonchus contortus were the helminth species identified in the study area. Oxyclozanide medicated buffaloes (E=96.66%) and cattle (E=95.64%) showed a significant decrease in fecal egg counts on day 14 post-treatment. An average daily increase of 0.89 and 0.71 liters of milk along with 0.42 and 0.37% more fat per buffalo and cattle, respectively was observed in oxyclozanide medication. The economic value of reduced production of infected animals was estimated as US$0.47 (Pak Rupees 40) and US$ 0.41 (Pak Rupees 35) per animal per day for cattle and buffaloes, respectively. It can be concluded that single dose of oxyclozanide is effective against all bovine helminths