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The Threat of Desert Locust to Food Security in Africa
The Threat of Desert Locust to Food Security in Africa
0131445Introduction
Figure 1: Schistocerca Gregaria
Source: Lecoq, 2003
The desert locust is a major threat to agriculture within an extended areas in North African (Lecoq, 2003). This insect causes significant damage to agro-sylvo-pastoral systems when it invades during seasonal invasions enabled by its robust and intricate migratory capabilities. The damage translates to severe food security problems, along with environmental and socioeconomic disturbances. The solution to threats posed by these locusts include containment, EMPRES reinforcement, and crop protection.
Key Figures and Facts
Figure 2: African countries facing potential desert locust threat
-9144070485Source: Anyamba et al. 2005
African countries mostly at the risk of the desert locust threat include Algeria, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Morocco
The largest crop damage by desert locusts in Africa was $ 2.5 billion (2003-2005).
Stopping this plague required $450 million (Palca, 2019).
Adult locust swarms can fly 150km per day (FAO, 2019).
A small locust swarm can damage food that can feed 35,000 people per day (FAO, 2019).
Eight locust invasion periods have been witnessed in the past (between1860 and 2003), some lasting more than 20 years.
Figure 3: Nature of locust invasion on crops
Source: FAO, 2019
Food crops in Africa mostly targeted by desert locusts are cereals and carbohydrate-rich crops.
Figure 4: Graph showing crops in Africa mostly targeted by desert locusts
Source: Lecoq, 2003
Factors in the Desert Locust Threat
Quick and rapid locust breeding during the summer as the queen can lay 300 eggs.
Heavy rains that amplify their breeding
High migratory capacities that enable them to transcend international boundaries.
Figure 5: Desert locusts’ eggs
Source: https://fr.slideshare.net/
Nature of the Desert Locust Threat
During periods of favorable rainfall in African deserts, outbreaks, invasions, and upsurges of desert locusts occur in most Saharan countries. Large locust swarms breed as they migrate because of the many eggs produced by queens. These swarms voraciously feed on grasses, trees, agricultural crops, and other plants in their migratory routes. This feeding devastates crops meant for people and livestock, leading to serious food security challenges realized as famines and starvation amongst crop-reliant communities.
Periods of rainfall recession interrupt the breeding and the desert locust population reduces, leaving only small numbers (Lecoq, 2003).
Importance of the Desert Locust Threat
Desert locust invasions have both socioeconomic and environmental importance. All types of vegetation are subject to attacks during the invasions, with damage occurring to biennial and perennial crops in the migratory, which are either irrigated or rain-fed. Damage to the total biomass production occurs, culminating in the abandonment of the affected agricultural and pastoral lands. Competition for food between locusts, humans, and livestock continues, and vegetation deteriorates, soil fertility declines, and ecological balance is disturbed. Further devastation causes local desertification, which has acute environmental implications such as loss of rainfall levels. Augmented irrigation in the Sahara increases the economic risk of desert locust invasions (Eriksson, 2008). Also, since these locust invasions happen during favorable rainfall periods, the development of agricultural crops during these periods increase the invasions’ economic impact (Ceccato et al., 2007; Lecoq, 2003).
Figure 6: Swarm of locusts threaten crops in post-Gaddafi Africa
Source: https://observers.france24.com/
Solutions
Figure 7: Mean control efficiency of desert locust nymphs treated with different IGR Nomolt plus GM50g/ha doses (year/2008)
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/
The desert locust can be addressed using three strategies:
Containment: Entails using pesticides to spray small locust colonies before they gather, breed, and spread to agricultural areas (The World Bank, 2010).
Reinforcement of EMPRES: The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pest and Diseases is a preventive program endorsed as part of FAO’s locust control mandate aiming at fighting locusts without the use of pesticides (Van der Valk et al. 2006).
Crop Protection: It involves using the available plague data to anticipate when the locust plague can reach the crops, hence launching strategic spraying campaigns to protect the crops before the plague.
Conclusion
The environmental and socioeconomic disturbances caused by these locusts can best be maintained through Containment, reinforcement of EMPRES and crop protection.
References
Anyamba, A., Small, J., Tucker, C. J., Cressman, K., Love, T. B., & Linthicum, K. J. 2005, September. Remote sensing of eco-climatic conditions associated with the 2004 Desert Locust outbreak in Northwest and Sahelian Africa. In Pecora 16 Symp. Global Priorities in Land Remote Sensing.
Ceccato, P., Cressman, K., Giannini, A., & Trzaska, S. 2007. The desert locust upsurge in West Africa (2003–2005): Information on the desert locust early warning system and the prospects for seasonal climate forecasting. International Journal of Pest Management, 53(1), pp. 7-13.
Eriksson, H. 2008. Effects on non-target organisms of insecticides used to control desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. (Licentiate Thesis, Uppsala University of Agricultural Sciences).
FAO. (July 25, 2019). FAO warns of Desert Locust outbreaks in Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Report from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome. FAO. Available at https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/fao-warns-desert-locust-outbreaks-yemen-and-horn-africa.
Le Gall, M., Overson, R., & Cease, A. J. 2019. A global review on locusts (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and their interactions with livestock grazing practices. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 263.
Lecoq, M. 2003. Desert locust threat to agricultural development and food security and FAO/international role in its control. Arab Society for Plant Protection. Arab J. Pl. Prot. 21, pp. 188-193.
Palca, J. August 19, 2019. Maybe the way to control locusts is by growing crops they don’t like. NRP. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/19/752361368/maybe-the-way-to-control-locusts-is-by-growing-crops-they-dont-like.
The World Bank. January 7, 2010. Improved ways to prevent the desert locust in Mauritania and the Sahel. The World Bank. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2010/01/07/improved-ways-to-prevent-the-desert-locust-in-mauritania-and-the-sahel.
Van der Valk, H., Del Castello, R., Cressman, K., Monard, A., Eriksson, H., Ammati, M., … & Everts, J. 2006. Fighting the locusts… Safely. Pesticides in desert locust control: Balancing risks against benefits. FAO.
The theme of love as brought out in the play, Othello
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Othello
Set in the city of Venice, Othello is a play tells the story of four characters, Othello a Venetian army general, Desdemona his loyal and trusting wife, Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant, and Iago, Othello’s ensign (Shakespeare). Composed and written by William Shakespeare, Othello is a brilliantly enthralling tragedy about how Iago, with his immense hatred for Othello, manages to ruin his life and lead him to his deathbed. The plot of the play is centered on Iago’s revenge for Othello’s betrayal and the reason behind this revenge is the fact that Othello chooses Cassio as his officer instead of Iago, and the presumptions that Othello previously engaged in a sexual affair with Iago’s wife Emilia. In subsequent series of events, the play narrates a story of the four characters, and how they manage to endure Iago’s trickery and deception. Using the central themes of racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal to bring out his message
This paper analyzes the theme of love as brought out in the play, Othello. The paper examines Shakespeare’s perception on the nature of love as brought out in the novel, as well as, provides a personal discernment of the same.
Love
Love has been the central theme of William Shakespeare’s novella and playwrights throughout time. Specifically, in Othello, Shakespeare integrates the theme of love in the tragic play so as to bring out his message regarding love accordingly. One section that strikes the readers with relation to the theme of love is where Othello states, “Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, / Nor set down aught in malice: then must you speak / Of one that loved not wisely but too well”, (Shakespeare 340-344). With this statement, readers can already perceive Shakespeare’s perception regarding love, that it is prudent and judicious. The events that take place throughout the novel also bring out love as a concept that is complex and uncomprehending. To, fully, understand the concept of love as brought out in the play, one must first consider the story of love in the play. In essence, the story of love in the play begins when the audience is introduced to the relationship between the black Moor Othello and his wife Desdemona. Blatantly, the couple’s marriage is illegitimate, as the two have kept it from Desdemona’s father, who after finding out about it, attempts to take them to court but fails in stopping the marriage. The two characters are evidently in love with each other and they manage to move to Cyprus so as to secure their love and start a family. The love between these two characters is illustrated in Othello’s words “She loved me for the dangers I had pass’d, / And I loved her that she did pity them” (Shakespeare 167-168).
Another character that has been used to bring out the theme of love is Iago, Othello’s so called ensign. Iago is jealous of Othello’s and Desdemona’s love and he develops a ploy to prevent the two lovers from sharing and exploring their love for each other. In his plot, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is not who he thinks she is: that behind her innocence, love and charm, she is an unfaithful whore who does not deserve Othello’s love. Iago’s plan successfully works and Othello becomes persuaded of Desdemona’s disloyalty. Subsequently, Othello takes Desdemona’s life, and he is convinced that her death comes as a result of his loving her ‘too well’. Accordingly, the words uttered by Othello suggests that his love for Desdemona was proper and without flaw as opposed to being astute and perceptive, thus drawing on to the concept of love in the play.
One of the questions that has been frequently raised about the play with relation to the theme of love is whether Othello truly loved Desdemona. This is because in the play, the audience are first introduced to their love for each other, then later the murder of Desdemona by her love, Othello. Evidently, Othello loves his wife very much and this is illustrated in how he defies her father’s orders and marries her. However, the choice to murder his wife begs the question as to whether he indeed loved his wife (Kirsch 721). He loves, adores, and worships Desdemona, yet he still puts her to death without a second thought. A closer examination of Othello’s love for Desdemona reveals that he loves her as an extension of himself. This means that Othello’s love for Desdemona is reliant on his perception regarding what she offers to him. This is clearly illustrated in his statement, “But that I love the gentle Desdemona, / I would not my unhoused free condition / Put into circumscription and confine / For the sea’s worth” (Shakespeare 25-28). He sees a reflection of himself in the way Desdemona expresses her love for him. As a lover, Othello is in pursuit of an ideal love, as well as, an idyllic beauty and partner. He searches for this all his life and manages to find these qualities in one woman only, Desdemona. To Othello, Desdemona embodies both the figure of love and the cause of love (Kirsch 723) With Desdemona as his partner, Othello experiences love at its supreme nature. Othello loves Desdemona with the same degree that she loves him, and for that reason, he loves her as a conservatory.
Additionally, Othello’s marriage to Desdemona has been idealized throughout the play and Desdemona’s service to him is a symbol of an exalted romantic infatuation. However, the fact that Othello fall for Iago’ trap and is convinced to kill her makes the love that Othello feels for Desdemona doubtful. Critics believe that Othello’s actions illustrate his lack of love for Desdemona, and for that reason, argue that he did not love Desdemona as Shakespeare would like his audience to believe in the play. However, if examined from a different point of view, the audience can comprehend Othello’s love for Desdemona differently. Accordingly, Iago is presented as a cunning and rational trickster, which makes him a very smart character. Throughout the play, Iago uses the weaknesses of all other characters in the play to manipulate them into doing as he wishes (Collins 230). In the case of Othello, Iago is aware of his mental state and his personal perception of himself.
Othello is a stranger in Desdemona’s community, and he does not feel like he fits in. He considers himself as an alien, something that Iago uses against him. Iago’s manipulative approach is then to influence Othello into regard himself as a complete alien in Venice. He manages to convince Othello that he is an alien, and for that reason, any woman who claims to love him does so tenaciously (Kirsch 726). Othello sequentially develops a tainted state of mind and soon Desdemona’s love for him becomes a torturous and insufferable. Every action of love that Desdemona demonstrates for Othello is translated as a deception and proof of her infidelity to Othello. Additionally, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio, thus compelling him to take her life so as to end his agony. In the play, Othello states “I will incontinently drown myself” (Shakespeare 305), after he kills Desdemona, as an illustration of his love for her. If examined from this point of view, it is, therefore clear that Othello was truly in love with Desdemona. He loved and idealized her so much that when he found out about her presumed disloyalty, he felt betrayed and the only solution was to kill her so that he can end his suffering. Arguably, he feels that her disloyalty has tainted woman he considered as the symbol of love, so in a way, his murder can be considered as a way of saving her for her destruction. His love for Desdemona, can therefore be seen as having been so much that he killed her for her own good.
Consequently, the events that take place in the play illustrate that love is vulnerable to pressure and even those who love can be susceptible to stress. Accordingly, Shakespeare suggests that love is complex and those who have had the opportunity to engage in it, undergo plenty of stressful experiences as a result of love.
Shakespeare is trying to tell his audience that romantic love is a tough experience, and for that reason, only the strongest of romantic lovers can survive this type of love. The fact that both Othello and Desdemona die by the end of the play reveals that they were not strong lovers, hence could not survives the hardships associated with love. Shakespeare also demonstrates the hardships associated with love in the daily living of the couple in marriage. As illustrated in the play, Desdemona suffered during her marriage, especially after he fell for Iago’s deception and started changing as a husband. After Othello’s changes in personality, Desdemona quickly realizes that she is not the same man she loved and married (Kirsch 735). Sequentially, she tries to plead with Othello to explain to her what she did to deserve such cold treatment. However, Othello does not give her any reason for the change, and instead, he abuses her constantly. As a loving wife and partner, Desdemona endures all this hurt and pain and she does not give up on her love for Othello even though the audience would wish that she does. This, further, illustrates Shakespeare’s perception on the nature of love. Love is destitution and it is the role of those involved in this love to change their experience of love and enjoy it on their own.
Personally, I believe that Shakespeare’s perception of love is true and justifiable. Because love involves the meeting of two different personalities and joining them into one, the possibility of hardships is high. Additionally, romantic lovers are under constant pressure from the outside world, and for that reason, individuals need to learn how to handle external pressure so as to make their love survive. Ideally, love is brought out s a wonderful experience and most people get into it expecting total bliss and harmony. However, this is the complete opposite of the true experience of love as it does not guarantee complete happiness for those who have the opportunity to experience it. In view of that, individuals need to have this in mind when deciding to commit to romantic relationships. However, this play does not completely illustrate the true nature of love as it depicts the negative side of love more than it does the positive aspect of the experience. Though love has been associated with hardship, it also bears fruits of happiness and contentment.
Work Cited
Collins Michael J. Reviewed work(s): Othello by William Shakespeare. Theatre Journal, 38.2
(1986): 230-233.
Kirsch, Arthur. The Polarization of Erotic Love in “Othello”. The Modern Language Review,
73.4 (1978): 721-740.
Shakespeare, William. Othello, The Moor of Venice. USA: Forgotten Books, 1962. Print.
Level 2 Management Report
Level 2 Management Project
Semester 2
2014 – 2015
Assessment Booklet
Integrated Assessment Rationale
By assessing two modules, which have a specific operations focus, at stage 2 together you will be able to gain a deeper knowledge of supply chain management and decision making.
It is intended that by completing this assessment students will not only have the required understanding to pass each of the three modules but also have a greater understanding of how operations affect businesses and the way we manage them.
Listed below are the learning outcomes for each of the courses involved with this integrated assessment:
BA (Hons) Business Management
The intended learning outcomes of the BA (Hons) Business Management course are to enable graduates to:
Have a wide knowledge and understanding of the broad range of areas of business and management, and the detailed relationships between these, their application and importance in an integrated framework.
Consistently demonstrate a command of subject specific skills including application of knowledge, as well as proficiency in intellectual skills.
Have a view of business and management which is influenced by a variety of learning sources including [but not limited to] guided learning, team work and independent study.
Be distinguished from the threshold category as defined by the QAA (2007) by their enhanced capacity to develop and apply their own perspectives to their studies, to deal with uncertainty and complexity, to explore alternative solutions, to demonstrate critical evaluation and to integrate theory and practice in a wide range of situations.
Module Combinations
As part of this integrated form of assessment you will need to be studying both of the following modules.
Business Management
238SAM Contemporary Supply Chain Management
251SAM Consultancy Management Techniques
Learning Outcomes
This integrated assessment looks to achieve the following specific learning outcomes from each of the three modules:
Business Management
238SAM Contemporary Supply Chain Management
LO3. Understand and apply appropriate management frameworks which can be used for the planning and control of materials and services, from the viewpoints of quality, quantity and cost analysis. LO4. Understand the range of tools and techniques available to aid efficient and effective Supply chain managerial decision making.
251SAM Consultancy Management Techniques
LO1. Identify and select sources of data and information relevant to the decision making processLO2. Analyse and present information to support decision makingLO3. Communicate results of information analysis and decision makingLO4. Select appropriate tools and techniques to support managerial decision making.
Task
Consider the following hypothetical scenario in regards to Jaguar Land Rover.
As consumers and automotive manufacturers become more aware of environmental issues, the pressure to develop new alternative fueled cars has become of strategic importance.
Jaguar Land Rover is committed to meeting the needs of their consumers and therefore has taken the decision to add an all electric vehicle to their existing line up. To reach this objective, JLR will have to implement new supply chains. This report will focus on the creation of supply chain networks from internationally based suppliers to the UK.
You will have to gather information and subsequently make decisions regarding the location of new JLR suppliers according to decision-making systems.
You will have to:
Identify and select sources of data and information regarding suppliers (you will need to consider the entire supply chain)
Identify the legal requirements relating to the collection use and storage of data and information
Select and apply appropriate decision-making frameworks to support the selection of the suppliers
Analyse and present information to support the decisions regarding suppliers selection
Consider how the supply chain for the new vehicle may differ to previous vehicles at JLR.
Consider how quality, quantity and cost will be addressed when making decisions throughout the supply chain.
Analyse the role of the customer in the supply chain.
Identify and discuss potential areas of difficulties in the new supply chain, offering ideas for constructive solutions.
Introduction, Conclusion / Recommendations, and reference list all need to be supplied in your final report.
Instructions
Your report needs to be presented in full report format with all sections included.
Please ensure that your report contains:
Title Page
An Executive Summary
Contents
Introduction
Discussion / Main Body
Recommendations and Conclusions
Full List of References
The word count for each of the main report is 3000 words with roughly 1500 words for each of the two modules. Please note that material outside of this, such as your introduction etc, are not included in the word count but are marked. Please refer to the marking criteria for details of how marks are allocated and determined for this piece of work.
Please remember that this piece of work is integrated across two modules and therefore you should ensure that your introduction, recommendations, conclusions and reference list reflect this.
Submission date: 1st of May 2015 at 23:55 via Turnitin only.
Failure to submit work on or before the deadline will result in a mark of 0 being awarded in line with current University policy.
IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ THIS WARNING REGARDING PLAGIARISM
Assessments must be all your own work and must not have been copied in part or in whole from any other source, such as books or the internet, or from other students’ work. If you wish to use another author’s exact words in a short quotation this must be clearly marked up in inverted commas with the exact source given, including page number, so that the reader can clearly see which words have been copied and are not your own. Just quoting references used at the end is not sufficient.
Please see your course handbook or the Faculty website for more information on referencing and university regulations on plagiarism.
Background Reading
The below case study should be considered when beginning your research into JLR, it should however be noted that this information is relevant to the current state of JLR and does not reflect the hypothetical scenario that you need to consider for this assignment.
Case Study
1.0 JLR
www.jaguarlandrover.com
The Jaguar Land Rover PLC is a huge company and a key player within the automobile industry. The company operates indirectly and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited. Jaguar Land Rover is built around two iconic British brands, Jaguar Cars Limited and Land Rover, which invent, engineer and produce cars in the UK with different target market within the industry. The former is branded as one of the premier producers of sports cars and luxury sports saloons in the world and the latter is a renowned producer of premium 4x4s all-terrain vehicles (Jaguar Land Rover n.d.). In addition, the company has attained a unique global image through a defined sales and distribution network of cars, related parts and accessories. The two top brands merged together in one world-class business, offers a portfolio of cars that are highly recognised as leaders in their sector. As a result, Jaguar Land Rover continues to falsify ahead in design excellence and technological innovation with the launch of its award winning Range Rover Evoque deemed as the “Car Design of the Year” (Range Rover n.d.). Other countries accolade for the Evoque includes ‘Auto Design and Styling’ and ‘Best SUV of 2011’ from Czech publication and Motor Press Editorial Group in Portugal respectively (Range Rover n.d.).
1.1 History
Jaguar Cars Ltd
Founded in 1922 by Sir William Lyons as the Swallow Sidecar Company, Jaguar Cars Ltd simply named in 1945, originated from motorcycle sidecars before moving into passenger car productions. In 1968, the company merged with the British Motor Corporation of which expanded the business’ operations. This gave Jaguar the opportunity to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984 under the FTSE 100 Index, prior the acquisition of the company by Ford in 1989 for £1.6 billion.
After the purchase, the company became part of the Premier Automotive Group in 1999 collectively with HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin”Aston Martin and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_Cars”Volvo Cars. Land Rover then joined the group after a year.
Jaguar has been known in recent years as a car manufacturer for prime ministers with the most recent one being the XJ model (Autoblog 2010). Also, the stylishly designed and luxurious Jaguar cars hold Royal Warrants from HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Charles (Motor Quote Direct 2011). Currently, Jaguar operates from the Whitley plant in Coventry and the Gaydon site in HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwickshire”Warwickshire where the cars are designed with a highly urbanized research and development centre since 1985 and the high-technology design and engineering centre since 2000 respectively. The Gaydon site also incorporate business functions such as Finance, Marketing, Sales, Human Resources and other services. The company manufactures from two plants which includes, Browns Lane which is known as the Jaguar veneer manufacturing centre since 1951and the Castle Bromwich which operates as the “Body in White Assembly and Paint, Trim and Final Assembly of all XJ, XF and XK model” (Jaguar n.d.).
The proximity of the plants enables the company to simply split the car body development from its assembly thereby creating a platform for a prompt manufacturing process. An additional plant which operates like the Castle Bromwich however, for Freelander 2 and X-TYPE models is the Halewood located in Liverpool. In order to offer an intriguing glimpse into the history of the company and create a positive public image, the company opened the Jaguar Heritage Museum which serves as a promotion centre and a home to about 160 Jaguar and Daimler displays from 1896 to the present (Jaguar n.d.). The museum was established in 1998.
One of flaws that Jaguar faced was the introduction of the X-TYPE to battle its rival, BMW 3 series, of which became a huge disappointment from their fans. The decision made by Ford to produce the car was based on Ford Mondeo’s platform. Jaguar’s X-type was described by customers as re-modelled Mondeo but their major drawback was the conservative styling and an uninspiring interior compared to competitors (Auto Express 2011). This resulted in the lack of sales hence losses incurred.
Land Rover
The company was founded by Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the Rover Company, who designed the original Land Rover through an inspiration from an American World War II Jeep used during his holiday (The Telegraph 2011). As a result, the first Land Rover was manufactured on a Jeep chassis. As part of its history, Land Rover was launched by Rover in 1948 and became part of the Leyland Motor Corporation in 1967 until 1968 when the British Leyland was formed after the merger of the British Motor Holdings and Leyland Motor Corporation. British Aerospace acquired the Rover Group in 1988 and six years after, BMW made an offer to overtake the company. The deal was successful and BMW became the sole owners of the company. The rapid change of ownership shows that the company was less profitable. To this effect, Land Rover was sold to Ford Motor Company in 2000 for £1.85 billion (3 billion euros) and became part of the Premier Automotive group (BBC 2010). Ever since Land Rover begun, the company has grown into a renowned brand which comprises of a range of four-wheel-drive models. The models include the series, defender, discovery, freelander, range rover, range rover sport and range rover evoque.
1.2 JLR Today
Jaguar Land Rover has undergone structural changes during its growth and development coupled with the rapid ownership changes elaborated above. The era has seen a recent divestiture by Ford when Jaguar became a financial drain on the company for years hence, making loss despite the £4 billion invested in Jaguar and Land Rover (AutoMotto 2006). Following the closure of Jaguar’s plant at Browns lane in Coventry, which led to unemployment issues, Ford decided to sell off Jaguar so as to reduce its costs and keep up with the rising competition in the US market (AutoMotto 2006). Although Land Rover was profitable, it did not have a huge impact on the company. In effect, Ford intended to use a ‘BOGOF’ strategy by selling Jaguar and throwing in Land Rover so as to attract buyers.
When the deal was announced, Tata, India’s biggest car vehicle maker showed an interest and negotiated based on the price and supply network systems. Ford and Tata agreed on a half price deal of £1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) for the two British marques in June 2008 (BBC NEWS 2011). The sale was crowned with a satisfactory statement from the executive chairman of Ford that it was “not a mistake” since there were rumors regarding the deal (BskyB 2011).
Apart from these rumors and the widespread scepticism in the market regarding an Indian company possessing Britain’s luxurious brands, other stakeholders were concerned about the takeover’s impact on the economy. This was partly due to the cost cutting measures taken by Ford, during the recession such as downsizing. However, Tata confirmed that there will be no significant changes instead, the takeover would enhance and expand their international presence and competition especially in the market of passenger cars. At this stage it is important to realise that although JLR was loss making company, Tata had 90% of their sales in the Indian market and looked to expand its market concentration internationally across different and customer segments and geographies. As a result, the company has penetrated into the UK market and emerging ones by acquiring the loss making firm. Aside the opportunities and strengths of the takeover, there were challenges faced by the entire Tata Group. Although the long term profitability of JLR seemed feasible to Tata’s management, a conflict of interest was demonstrated by shareholders’ dissatisfaction. This was mainly due to the negative market reaction of value investors when the takeover deal was announced.
Also industry analysts predicted that the major issues that could disturb the foresight of the company were the funding risks, currency risks and economic downturn in markets in Europe and America (IBS Centre of Management Research n.d.). In response to the issues at hand, the global investment bank UBS stated that “This (the debt) could increase Tata Motors’ interest costs by Rs 650-700 crore per annum and reduce the earnings per share for 2008-09 by Rs 12-13, or 19-20 per cent (Business today 2011).” Standard & Poor’s assessment of Tata’s outstanding debt of $850 million for JLR purchase resulted in a downgrade of its credit ratings from B+ to B (Bloomberg Business week 2011).
As employees of JLR were not happy about the takeover due to the risk of downsizing, the company revived their confidence by signing an agreement with Unite, JLR’s trade union group, with the intention of safeguarding jobs for three years till 2011(Business today 2011).
The agreement included other packages such as pensions and sourcing agreements of which are very beneficial to the UK automotive industry. After some time, the company was at risk of shutting down some of its plants such as those in solihull, Halewood, Castle Bromwich and Coventry due to the 10 months loss of about £280 million in 2009 which is 32% fall in sales. Consequently, the government expressed its willingness to support JLR, stating that the company is a viable business with future prospects (BBC NEWS 2011). The management of the company, therefore, requested for £1 billion bailout.
This request was subject to the government’s scrutiny of which the business secretary Lord Mandelson added his thoughts stating that “The car sector – car manufacturing – is a centre of real excellence and competitive strength in our country” (Haymarket Media Group 2011). It is apparent that, the company could not withstand the competition at hand and was dramatically facing cash flow problems with the inability to meet their debt obligations as they fell due such as payment to suppliers and lenders.
The crowning victory that has long been waiting for was the renaissance of the JLR brand. Following a high degree of investment in research and development to rebuild the brand image, the classic and luxurious Jaguar XF and XK was revealed. JLR has invested more than £1 billion per year over the five forthcoming years to create thrilling and contemporary models that will, ultimately, fortify JLR’s position internationally. Subsequently, signs of immediate results were reflected where sales were up 95% and 25% for the XF and XK models respectively. This comprised of an increase in sales in emerging markets like China and India recording a 43% sales rise in China. Overall, JLR sales rose by 51% from £6.6 billion to £9.9 billion which was aided by a favourable foreign exchange rates. Annual profits of more than £1.1 billion were recorded. Ralf Speth, chief executive of JLR, said: “This is a solid performance but we must remain focused on delivering a strong, sustainable business model for the future (Dennis Publishing Limited 2011).” Professor Bailey of Coventry University Business School also added that JLR is focussing on doubling production over the next four years.
He also stated that car productions target for JLR has been set at 300,000 rather than 150,000 by 2015 (Birmingham Post.net 2010). This creates a platform for low-cost importers from India to penetrate the market.
References
Autoblog (2010) Cameron gets a new Jag to go with the new job [online] available
from < HYPERLINK “http://uk.autoblog.com/2010/05/13/cameron-gets-a-new-jag-to-go-with-the-new-job/”http://uk.autoblog.com/2010/05/13/cameron-gets-a-new-jag-to-go-with-the-new-job/> [26 July 2011]
Auto Express (2011) Jaguar X-Type [online] available from
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Marking Criteria
Assessment Criteria for Undergraduate Integrated Assessment level 2
FIRST70 – 100 The output is well structured and communicated. It is coherent and shows an excellent level of analysis and evaluation with clear signs of originality and insight. Has read and synthesised extensively beyond the immediately relevant reading. The final report is well laid out and successfully brings together all of three of the individual modules.
TWO-ONE60 – 69
The project has relevant content which meets all criteria set in the assessment booklet. Clear evidence of independent inquiry and critical judgment in selecting, ordering, analysing and synthesising. Has read the immediately relevant literature and to a great extent beyond. Has successfully linked the three module topics together.
TWO-TWO50 – 59THIRD
40 – 49
MARGINAL FAIL35 – 39
Some appropriate theory plus an attempt at analysis but with basic linkage between theory and analysis. Has read the immediately relevant literature and beyond. Some attempt at bringing the three modules together has been made.
Makes only a basic attempt to answer the questions. Lacks focus and only a weak attempt at analysis. Has read some of the immediately relevant literature. Lacks synthesis between the discreet topic areas.
Fails to understand the basic requirements of the questions. Essentially descriptive work showing only limited understanding and application of ideas. Little evidence of having read the immediately relevant literature. No evidence that relevant subject knowledge has been understood. Little attempt at analysis.
POOR FAIL
0 – 34 Poorly organised superficial description with virtually no understanding or analysis of the issues involved. No attempt at synthesis. No evidence of having read the immediately relevant literature or understood basic theory.
Section Maximum Mark Marked by
Introduction 5 Decision Making
Supply Chain Management 90 Supply Chain Management
Decision Making 90 Decision Making
Recommendations and Conclusions 10 Supply Chain Management
Referencing and Layout 5 Decision Making
Total Marks 200