A study on business development and strategy of Starbucks in China Essay

A study on business development and strategy of Starbucks in China - Essay Example China has been one of the rapidly growing economies in the world with high growth opportunities. Since 1979, China has opened up the economy gradually to foreign business (UN, 2009). In December 2001, China became formally a member of World Trade Organization (WTO), which provided further incentives for increased integration with the world economy. The first Starbucks shop was opened in 1999 in Beijing and now it has 190 shops all over the mainland China. Initially, China was mainly a tea consuming nation with only very small coffee market while now reports show that the coffee consumers are rapidly growing (Starbucks, 2008). According to the latest reports, Starbucks has decided to setup China as its largest market outside North America and is now in the process of careful planning for that(The Wall street Journal,2010). In spite of the reports showing the company facing competitive pressures in several other countries, the success of the company in Chinese market deserves special m ention(ICMR,2009).In this context an analysis on the key success factors of Starbucks in Chin market, its main challenges and opportunities has important policy implications. The various external factors influencing the performance of an organization are evaluated through external analysis. Both the positive and negative trends influencing a company’s performance are evaluated through this process. The positive trends are opportunities to a company and the negative trends are the threats faced by the company. This analysis is very relevant for assessing a company’s present situation so that the company can develop new strategies or change existing strategies by making use of the opportunities and threats to the company (Coulter, 2005). This according to Coulter (2005), there are both specific environment, which influence directly the company’s strategic decision and general

Microbiology Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microbiology Exam - Essay Example Some viruses (animal viruses and bacteriophages) have the capsid encased in an envelope. In addition they are non-membraneous and cannot yield energy. They are also devoid of metabolic enzymes and ribosomes that form the sites for protein biosynthesis.Moreover, they need host cells to replicate. Viruses are transmitted via salivary drops, respiratory fluids, sexual contact, fecal-oral especially in case of contaminated food, animal vectors and via blood. Viroids- Comprise of single-stranded and circular RNA which is noncoding and infect plants. As compared to viruses their genome is much smaller, are protein non-coding, and unlike viruses some possess ribozyme activity. They initiate infection in plants via chloroplast or nuclear replication and they are conveyed in cells via plasmodesmata. Prions- Infectious agents that solely comprise of a protein whose form is misfolded. This is a distinguishing feature as they lack nucleic acids i.e. RNA/DNA. These potent agents means of propagat ion is via inducing folded proteins in healthy organisms to change (misfold) and assume the form of the prion; these have the ability to cause disease. The resultant stable structure causes cell death and tissue damage (Tortora, Funke & Case, 2010). 2. How can viruses lead to cancer? Be sure to use specific examples (e.g. virus name and the cancer it causes) to illustrate your points. Viral transformation mediated via viral genes results to uncontrolled cell growth with contact inhibition loss, tumor formation as well as chromosomal aberrations. In addition viral oncogenes that transform normal cells into malignant cells are transmitted by viruses. Viruses also inactivate the tumor suppressor proteins. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the causative agent for cervical cancer and it integrates in the host’s genome and suppresses the expression E2 viral gene which represses the expression of viral oncoproteins E7 and E6. E6 has a high binding affinity for p53(tumor suppressor gene) and triggers its degradation and E7 binds to retinoblastoma(Rb). Rb and p53 are tumor suppressor proteins. This results to apoptosis inhibition and dysregulation of cell growth. E6 possesses the ability to trigger telomerase activity as well as immortalizing cells. E7 also triggers abnormal centriole biosynthesis as well as aneuploidy during the initial oncogenic process. Hence, E7 and E6 are synergistic in transforming normal cells to a state of malignancy. However, there is a genetic predisposition to the progression of cervical cancer. Moreover, acute immunosuppression heightens the propensity of cervical dysplasia and subsequent cancer progression (Damania, 2006). 3. You are growing Bacillus subtilis in nine 16,000-liter fermenters to produce enzymes for industrial use. The Bacillus cultures had been growing for 2 days when the cells in one of the fermenters lysed. Explain what happened in this fermenter. This is likely to be a case of bacteriophage contamination. Bacterio phages are a class of viruses that infect bacteria. Upon infecting bacterial cultures, they cause serious problems and this entails complete loss of bioproducts; in this respect enzymes and their subsequent proliferation in the plant (to other fermentors). This results to culture lysis and unless it is contained, the problem is bound to reoccur even after stringent sterilization of equipment. Decontamination is much difficult in such a large scale fermentor. It is has been proven that phage propagation in such a bioreactor can easily spread