Pret A Manger Internationalization strategy Essay Example

Pret A Manger Internationalization strategy Paper Secondly, it is interesting to study how this brand has landed to face the increasing competition on the fast food market (Eat keeps opening new stores, Struck starts selling sandwiches and even Ginsburg and MS are places where people go and buy their lunch). (Nee LEE, 2014) prà ªt A Manger is a British company created in London in 1 986 by two friends, Sinclair BECAME and Julian METCALF. Prà ªt, as this company is more commonly called, is a private company, which does not accept franchising. Prà ªt owns 335 shops all over the world, amongst which 21 3 are in the United Kingdom. The company is very profitable since the annual sales worldwide represent an amount of IEEE million. Preps customers can either eat or drink in the restaurants, either take away, or order Prà ªt delivery at home. The message Made Today, Gone today, that can be read on every Press product, sums up the mission of the company: the products sold are fresh, made from natural and good ingredients. They are ready-to-eat, known as gourmet and seen as sophisticated products, to suit the tastes of the target market. They are also convenient to satisfy businessmen and women with a tight schedule. We will write a custom essay sample on Pret A Manger Internationalization strategy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pret A Manger Internationalization strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pret A Manger Internationalization strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The values of Prà ªt are quality, healthy food, ethics and sustainability. Prà ªt provides work to 7,1 00 employees. It stresses the importance of having a friendly staff. Also, to match its strong Corporate Social Responsibility, Prà ªt defends the employment of homeless people and people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Moreover, the company puts in place the project that consists in donating unsold sandwiches to homeless people. Prà ªt also wants to hit the environment consciousness of the customers by spreading an environmental friendly brand image. For example, in the 1 9905 they stopped using plastic boxes and started using boxes made of cardboard. So Preps target market is this following type of customers: business refashions, who are environmentally conscious, clean and sophisticate and who adopt a healthy lifestyle. (Dave WALLER, 2012) Prà ªt is a very successful brand in its national country. There are 213 Prà ªt shops in the United Kingdom and sales per store are twice as high as those of the competitors that are Costa Coffee or Struck for example. In order to understand this success since 1 986, we have been through a PESTLE analysis regarding the fast food and take-away market. Politic The British government launched a plan to fight against obesity and to spread a healthy lifestyle. Indeed, The Department of Health, in the frame of its 2013 policy of reducing obesity and improving diet, fixed the following objectives: By 2020, we want to see a downward trend in the level of excess weight in adults and a sustained downward trend in the level of excess weight in children. Lane Ellison MM, 201 3) Economic As consequence of the crisis, the purchase power decreased so people changed their consumer habits and focused on cheaper take-away options, which, therefore, became more popular. Social Prà ªt matched the populations awareness of the importance to have a healthy way f life, as the growing concern of the population about ethics and sustainability. Technology Prà ªt updated its services by offering delivery options. The use Of the Internet and therefore of the technologies to promote, communicate about the brand and enable online orders was a very efficient strategy. The companys current international operations and strategy Currently, Prà ªt A Manger is settled in the United Kingdom, in France, in the United States and in Hong Kong. Prà ªt also tried to enter the Japanese market but it happened to be a failure. Prà ªt A Manger decided to go abroad for several reasons. The main one is the dangerous expansion of strong and already global brands, such as Subways or Struck Struck is already implemented in 55 countries- that threatened prà ªt market shares. Secondly, it is naturally a profit-driven decision. By looking abroad, Prà ªt identified promising market opportunities that the United States, China or Europe represent. The final reason is the expansion in the United Kingdom that appears limited eventually. However, Clive SCHLEP, the current Chief Executive Officer of the company remains optimistic regarding the constant growth of Prà ªt in the United Kingdom. We keep on thinking that London cant take any more, he said in an article in The Guardian (Rebecca SMITHIES, 201 0), but every year we have some very strong openings. He asserts that the brand can rely on the shops opened in much crowed areas such as airport or train stations, areas where the customers that Prà ªt targets spend times every day. In 2000, Prà ªt widened its ambitions and started to expand abroad. The first foreign market the brand targeted was the United States. They opened there their first shop in New York in 2000. The main challenges were to create solid partnerships with American suppliers and to rain the New Yorker staff The US expansion was successful, thanks to the strategic alliance with McDonalds, which bought 33% of Prà ªt shares. The company benefited from the expertise, the country knowledge and the network in the food industry of McDonalds. As a result, the brand was well accepted in the new market since American and British share the same Western cultural eating habits. American associates the brand with a British image, I. E. Fast and healthy. Thus, by the end of the year 2013, Prà ªt had opened 36 restaurants in New York, 9 in Chicago and 3 in Boston (Rebecca SMITHIES, 2010). Along with its strategy to become global, Prà ªt tried to enter the Japanese market in 2002. Japan appeared as a very promising market because of its large population that easily welcomes what comes from the Western countries. Moreover, the Japanese are quality conscious consumers who spend about 20% of their budgets on food. On the other hand, entering this new market was a real challenge. As we know, many global brands have already failed in this county, such as Google, Ebay or Burger King. The mode of entry strategy was to create a 50/50 joint venture with McDonalds Japan. This strategy was legitimate regarding its success in the US. But unfortunately, McDonalds which had been present in Japan for a long time, decided to cut its prices down in 2003. Prà ªt, at a too early stage on this new market, could not follow the decision. So as a result, McDonalds announced the end of the partnership with prà ªt. Therefore prà ªt was forced to close all the shops down in 2004. (Jinee LEE, 2014) How can we explain the failure of Prà ªt In Japan? First, timing was simply wrong. In 2002, Japan had suffered from the mad cow disease, which represented a big disadvantage for a food company. Secondly, Prà ªt leaned too much on its partner. The company relied only on McDonalds arrest knowledge and information so as a consequence, it lacked of market awareness. Besides, Preps expansion on the Japanese market was too ambitious: 14 stores were opened at once, it was a gambling strategy. And finally, prà ªt had not well understood the customers expectations. Japanese customers care about the taste, the cost and the ambiance. Prà ªt sandwiches were too expansive and they did not suit the customers eating habits (Michael Fitzpatrick, 2004). The brand launched its first shop in France in Paris in 2012. Contrary to the implantation in the United States, which had been seen as fast, Prà ªt gradually expanded in France. Ahead the company made a lot of research about the French tastes to make sure that they were pin pointing the right target markets. France was a strategic market to enter because of the cultural French habit that consists in spending 30 minutes in average on lunch break to eat. In order to succeed there, Prà ªt also adapted the food offers to the French customers to their tastes. As an example, more French baguettes than British puddings Were sold in Prà ªt stores. The results were the following in France: sales were 15% higher than the average in the UK (Rose Jacobs and Jennifer Thompson, 2012). II. Three potential target markets Brazil Why this country? First of all, the group chose Brazil because the country itself is a strategic point of entrance for the Latin America at the economic, political and social levels. In the last five years, the world has been looking to this BRICE country as one of the most emergent economies in the world. With nearly 200 million people and a GAP of $2. 4 trillion and $11,875 per capita, Brazil represents the new breath of Latin America (Reuters, 2010). When it comes to a country, the group had to reflect individually about all the advantages and disadvantages of settling down the operations in Brazil. However, sooner we concluded that a country that produces one third of all the coffee produced in the world and that has maintained this position for around 150 years should be the right decision for Prà ªt A Manger. To conclude, the overview of why the group chose Brazil as one of the three target countries for Pretax Mangers expansion is becalms Brazil has been consolidated as the 7th largest consumer market in the world with $1. 37 trillion. Likely to impact? Economic Reasons The economic reasons regarding why we choose Brazil as a target country for Prà ªt A Mangers expansion were the most pondered within all the reasons u to the countrys emergent economy at all levels. Brazil is mainly characterized by a large and well-developed agricultural, where obviously the coffee beans production is included, services and manufacturing sectors. After 2010, the confidence of investors and consumers in the economy returned which resulted in an increase of the GAP growth of 7. 5% (Remuneration International, 2010) and from that time line the economic performance has been positive. Since the beginning, Prà ªt A Mangers expansion has been prudent and conscious to each country. They prefer establish in big and metropolitan cities and after depart to other places within he same country. For the company, the cities ROI De Jeanine and So Paulo are the most indicated because it is where the flow of tourists and the number of habitants is the highest in Brazil. With the objective of calling external investors and companies, the Brazilian government reduced the corporate tax rate from 34 to 25%, which is really beneficial to Prà ªt A Manger in order to generate future profits (Beseechers, 2013). Demographic and social reasons From 2013 to 2014, Brazil increased its population growth in about 0. 8% and its birth rate stands for 14. 72 births per 1 ,OHO habitants (CIA, 2014). According o the population graph, the median age for males is 29. 9 years and for the females is 31. 5 years. It is also observable on the graph that the predominant age ranges are the ones from 25 to 29 years and from 30 to 34 years, which represent the youth of the Brazilian labor force. In addition, it is important to mention that, as a result of Dilemma Rouses policies, the labor force has become more and more qualified because in a macroeconomic view Brazil wants to match the external investment requirements with a qualified labor force in order for multinational companies to settle their production lines and warehouses. Pretax Manger would have to take this point under consideration because they do not have any operations settled yet so this variable costs would affect their growth rate and the return on investment over the first years. Since 201 0, Brazil spends 5. 8% of their GAP on education (CIA, 2014) because they know that this subject will have a great impact on the countrys productivity in about 10 years and also because the youth unemployment rate is 15. 4% which is too high. Operational reasons In terms of coffee production about one third of all the coffee produced in the world is attributed to Brazil and the more cherishing thing for Brazilian is hat they have maintained this top position for around 150 years (Heritage, 2014). So, the group concluded that if our core business is based on selling coffee beverages, choosing one of the biggest coffee producers in the world could benefit the speed and the costs of the operations. As said in the previous reason, the cheap labor contributed mainly for the choosing of Brazil as a target country because prà ªt should consider the vertical integration of some coffee beans plantations and production warehouses. Since Struck entered the Brazilian coffee market they already bought mom of the biggest coffee plantations in Brazil in order to control all the process from the harvesting to the final product. Consequently, this allows them to create a monopoly in this sector becoming an entry barrier (5 forces of Porter) for potential companies that would like to enter. Since Prà ªt a Manger has the financial power to buy some coffee plantations that would facilitate them in terms of costs and of operations. Secondly, it is important to mention the recent enhancement of the Brazilian roads and train ways because the country is so big that if they were in a bad state that could affect Preps shipping of coffee and other fresh rodents creating at the same time delays on the store replacement. Sporting reasons During the 2014 summer, the world stopped to watch the FIFE World Cup in Brazil. This sporting event created a lot of revenues but also a lot of investment in infrastructures by the Brazilian government. From this experience, Brazil created infrastructures that are prepared to generate cash flows into the country. According to the Guardian, the World Cup added $13. Ban in the Brazilian GAP (Betimes, 2014) for the year. One of the reasons why prà ªt chose this country is because in 201 6 Brazil will also receive the 01 6 Olympic games in ROI De Jeanine, one of the chosen cities for Prà ªt a Manger expansion. We believe that this worldwide event that involves more sports than football will bring even more revenues because more tourists and athletes will come and consume in a more extended period of time. Coffee habits and consumer patterns In certain extent Brazil is a very interesting country regarding the customers behavior. Out-of-home consumers are looking for different types of coffee beverages, namely espressos, cappuccinos and other milk-based preparations, different from the traditional filtered coffee they usually drink t home (Brazil Bar, 2014). They are also more inclined to pay more for higher quality coffees as compared to previous years. It is because of the above- mentioned reasons that the group also chooses Brazil. In addition, their purchasing power is increasing due to the enhancement Of the standards Of life, so we expect that if Prà ªt a Manger decided to penetrate the Brazilian coffee market they would succeed in terms of cash flows growth. Canada Canada is really similar and close politically, economically and culturally to the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) where PRÊT has implemented itself very successfully. That is the main reason why we have chosen to enter this specific country. Furthermore, other factors specific to Canada make this country such an interesting market to enter for PRÊT. Political factor Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a free country. The head of state is none other than Queen Elizabeth II. Therefore, Canada and the LIKE are very close politically. Economic factor Canada is a developed country with a free market that makes it easy for a foreign company to open a business in this country. Besides, the country received the highest grade of AAA by COFFEE for its risk assessment and business climate in 2014. Forbes magazine even ranked Canada as the best country for doing business in 2013. It is also one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Canadas economy is also very close to the US and the EX. ones, and especially from the UK. In fact, a free-trade agreement ACTA is to be signed within years between Canada and the European Union (Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, 2014). This will lead to even more economic relationship bet/en the two regions. And currently, the UK is one of the strongest economic partners of Canada. Finally, the cost of entering the Canada would be affordable. It will be similar to the US operation. As a result, we should gain some benefits by expanding our sales. Demographic, social and cultural factors Canada is a very big market. Currently, more than 3 million people are living in this country and 54. 5% of the population is between 25 and 64 years old which is our target age. Furthermore, an important part of Canadas population comes from England and France, so the brand is already present in the minds of potential consumers. As English and French are also both official languages, we will not have to translate our advertising for the ascription of our products in another language. Moreover, there is no specific food restriction due to religion. Lastly, obesity is quite high in Canada so it could be a good strategy for us to play our healthy fast food card. Finally, Canada is extremely close culturally to the LIST and the KICK. In fact, the Hefted cultural criterion for these three markets are, if not the same, really similar (Hefted center, 2014). This can be a real advantage for PRÊT as they can use the same strategy used in the LIKE and the US, and it is likely to be a success. Geographical factor Canada is the 2nd biggest country in the world. It has a border with the US from which more than of its population lives within km (CIA, 2013). Prà ªt is already set on the east cost of the IIS so it is a way to expand in America. There are lots of big cities in Canada as 80. 7% of the population live in a town (major urban areas in 201 1: Toronto 5. 573 million, Montreal 3. 856 million, Vancouver 2. 267 million, Calgary 1 . 16 million, Ottawa 1 . 208 million, Edmonton 1. 142 million). This is an important point as Prà ªt only opens in big cities. Consumer food and drink habits Historically, the Aborigine, English and French cultures has influenced Canada. As a consequence, Canadians are used to eat fresh and healthy food. Moreover, Canadians are huge coffee drinkers. According to the Canadian Coffee Drinking study 2013, coffee is the second most consumed beverage in 201 3 and 65% of adults seem to drink coffee regularly (Coffee association of Canada, 2013). Likely to impact? As we have seen before, the political and monetary risks are really low regarding Canada but the competition is actually quite tough. Moreover, Prà ªt will have to consider a few economic, cultural and political issues when entering the market, which are likely to impact negatively on its equines, if not considered seriously. Competitive risk First, Preps main competitor, Struck, is already very well implemented in this country (Struck, 2014). Second, a lot of coffee shops have already seized the opportunity of settling into Canada so competition is tough. Local standards of products and practices in pricing, distribution, and advertising are similar than in the US. Economical issue Currently, unemployment and poverty are quite high in Canada. In fact, 7% of the population is unemployed and 9% live under the poverty line (CIA, 2013). This could have an impact on our revenues since our products are quite expensive and since we are targeting businessmen and women. Cultural Issue There are two different cultures in Canada: a culture of Quabeck and an English Canadian culture. Hence, we may need to adapt our products differently for each of those cultures. Actually, Quabcoos seem to have better food habits than the rest of Canada (Louise Limited, 2008). Whats more, French Canadian is slightly different from the French that is spoken in France. For example, Canadian use the French word submarine when referring to what is called in France a sandwich (Doctrinaire des expressions ubcozies, 2007). That is why we cannot use the exact same marketing strategy we used in France. Political and legal issue Canada is composed Of 10 provinces and 3 territories. Each province has different registration procedures and regulation fee (CIA, 2013). Therefore, it could become really complicated to settle in different provinces at the same time. It would be the same as entering into different countries at the same time. Other issues Geography is also an issue PRÊT should consider when entering the market. The climate varies from temperate in south to sybaritic and artic in north. There are mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast and only 4. % of the land is arable (CIA 2013). This could be a danger for the production, supply and conservation Of food. Germany Germany is one of the most developed countries in the world, from an economical, technological, political and social point of view.

TANG Dynasty

TANG Dynasty Free Online Research Papers How should one interpret one of China’s most memorable dynasties? The Tang dynasty is one of China’s most remarkable and glistening historic periods known today. The Tang dynasty established a strong centralized state system, starting in 618 after the fall of the Sui dynasty in the early seventeenth century. Although the early Tang monarchs were good rulers over all, one emperor in particular parts from the group. â€Å"Li Shih-min† who would assume the title of T’ai-tsung. T’ai-tsung was the son of the first emperor in the Tang dynasty Gaozu. He was a bold, energetic, and powerful emperor that was determined to solve the international problems that had destroyed past weaker dynasties. T’ai-tsung was responsible for the recreation of Chinese government. (â€Å"quote source†) According to â€Å"source 1† at the top of the hierarchy was the emperor; below him were three administrations; council of the state, military affairs, and the censorate. The most important out of the three was the council of the state, which drafted policy, reviewed policy, and implemented policy. The military affairs directed the military under the control of the emperor. The censorate watched over the government and the government officials to prevent misgoverning and corruption. The new government policies set into place that T’ai-tsung had ingeniously derived led to the central state system working. The geographical area of the Tang Empire stretched across a vast part of China. Chang’an was the western capitol of the Tang dynasty, and became a centralized meeting place for traders, merchants, artist, and religious leaders. Chang’an became one of the richest and most powerful cities in the world at that time. The Tang dynasty flourished in part due to the new economic and trading ties with different regions. Trade was possible because the government maintained good foreign trade relation. The Tang Empire traded with India, Middle East, and Central Asia. Silk road connected Chang’an to Greece, Rome, and parts of Europe. This highway brought new products of trade to the countries which included silk, tea, herbs, spices and hand crafted items. The Tang dynasty is responsible for many great things, the dynasty had several world changing inventions, famous literature, and changing religious movements that would spark a revolution that would forever change the way Chinese people interacted and lived within society. One reason that the Tang Dynasty is known for being one of the best empires in Chinese history is because of the brilliant and world changing inventions that some of the greater minds in that era created, forever changing the way people lived. Inventions are essential for ever changing technologic advances towards a greater way of life and the Chinese understood this concept with the invention of making paper, gunpowder, printing technique and compass. All of which were not completely new concepts but the Tang Dynasty found ways to improve some of the already thought of inventions. The invention of paper making greatly contributed to the spread and development of civilization. Prior to the invention of paper making; bones, tortoise shells, and bamboo slips were all used as writing surfaces. As Chinese civilization developed the usage of their materials proved to be unsuitable, because they were extremely too heavy and took up a lot of space. The next material used in trying to make p aper was the combination of hemp fiber and silk, but the quality of the material was found to be unsatisfactory. The use of that material also had far better uses . According to (â€Å"quote† ) Xue fu wu che which is a Chinese idiom describing a learned man. The story behind paper making is that a scholar by the name of Hui Shi who lived during the Tang dynasty. He needed five charts to carry around his books while teaching. At the time books were made of wood and bamboo slips, so one could imagine how heavy and inconvenient they would be to carry from place to place. Not to mention how much space the books would take up. If a person had ten or more books that person might need a cart with wheels just to carry them around. Reading books at the time, a person would not only need to have brain power, but would also have to be in good physical condition. According to Chinese history experts â€Å"In 105 A.D. Cai Lun, a eunuch during the Tang dynasty, invented paper from worn f ishnet, bark, and cloth.† The fact that these raw materials were available at such a low cost and easily able to obtain the process of making paper in large quantities just made sense! The technique of paper making was eventually exported to Korea in 384 A.D. Japan acquired the skill of making paper when a Korean monk traveled there taking the information and process with him. Paper making traveled to the Arab empire during a war between the Arabs and the Tang dynasty, when some of the soldiers of the Tang army, and paper making workers were captured during the war. Soon after, a paper factory was established in the Arab nation. In the eleventh century the skill of making paper was carried to India when Chinese monks traveled there in search for spiritual enlightenment. The skill then traveled the world from one continent to the next, eventually the skill was brought to America. The invention of paper is accredited to one of the greatest dynasties know in Chinese history, the Tang Dynasty. The Tang dynasty was also responsible for the invention of gunpowder. In Chinese, the word gunpowder is called, huo yao, which means flaming medicine. Unlike so many of the other Chinese inventions the making of gunpowder was pure accidental. Gunpowder is an invention that has had a profound effect on human society. Gunpowder was first discovered when alchemist was trying to make an elixir of immortality. According to legend â€Å"During the Tang dynasty, around 850 A.D., an enterprising alchemist (whose name has been lost to history) mixed 75 parts saltpeter with fifteen parts charcoal and ten parts sulfur. This mixture had no discernable life-lengthening properties, but it did explode to an open flame. According to a text from the era, â€Å"smoke and flames result, so that (the alchemist) hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down.† After the discovery of gunpowder the Chinese people found many useful purposes for this ne w and amazing invention. It is thought that the only use for gunpowder was for making fireworks, used by the Chinese during celebrations, such as, parades and ceremonial events for the emperor; but gunpowder was destined for greater usages. One usage of gunpowder was in weapons. The Chinese people used gunpowder devices against their enemies during the war against the Mongolians. These weapons were called, â€Å"Flying Fire† or (Feihuo). This weapon was an arrow with a little bomb at the end of it. The Chinese would fire the flying fire arrows at their enemy. The sight of the arrows propelling into the sky would terrify the enemy and their horses. The early warriors of the Mongolians must have thought this was some kind of awful witchcraft. Another astounding use of gunpowder that the Chinese came up with was the cannon. The first artillery devices of the cannon were made of hollow bamboo shoots. As time progressed, the hollow bamboo shoots would be made in to what we know today as cannons with cast iron. The Chinese government became very concerned about the advancement of technology of gunpowder spreading it’s way to other countries. In 1076 the sale of saltpeter to foreigners was banned. Although the Chinese government tried their best to keep this technology confined to its original location, it was the will of the world to expand this technology. With the ever-growing trade and commerce taking place in the capitol and along the silk road it was but a matter of time before China’s secret about gunpowder was out. Throughout the centuries Chinese inventions had a profound effect on human society, but none of them had the effect like gunpowder did. In today’s society we use the printer on an everyday basis, but do we know where this technique came from. Today we just use a click of a mouse on a computer that sends a signal from one device to another, the printer, and out comes words or pictures onto a sheet of paper. It has not always been this simple, technology has progressed through the years, making us take printing for granted. The invention of the printing technique originated in the great Tang dynasty of China. Around 600 A.D. the Chinese people invented block printing. Block printing was inspired by engraved name seals. This technique took a long period of time, and energy to prepare. The amount of materials that were used in this technique were overwhelming. Although block printing has its drawbacks the concept to transcribing words was revolutionary. Block printing was done by taking a piece of wood and carving letters of Chinese symbols into the wood, then the block would be dipped into ink then pressed onto the paper. A new block would have to be carved for each page in a book. Block printing was costly and time consuming. As printing became more popular a new method advanced and it was called movable type printing. Movable type printing was much easier and affordable. The fact that the idea of printing came from the Tang dynasty only adds to the evidence that it is one of the greatest eras in Chinese history. A fourth and important invention that came out of the tang dynasty was the ever important compass. Compasses are used all over world, by all different kinds of people for many purposes. Some of the reasons people use them range from helping ships navigate around the world to helping lost hikers in the woods find there way back to civilization. The invention of the compass transpired when one spring while mining ores and melting copper a group of Chinese people stumbled onto a natural magnetite that attracted iron and fixed its position towards the north. During the tang dynasty they improved the compass by devising a way to suspend magnetized iron in water. After doing so they enclosed the two items into an enclosure, providing the world with what we know today as the compass. Eventually this invention made its way to Europe where it was then used by the famous explorer Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus would later go on to discover the new world which is known today as the United States of America. Since ancient times, the Chinese believed in a type of folk religion that incorporated many types of beliefs. The Chinese believed that the afterlife was a reality parallel to the living world. The tang dynasty’s main religion was Buddhism. Daoism, and Confucianism were also religions followed by the people during the tang dynasty, but were not as influencing towards the government or impacting on society during that era of history. The practice of the religion Buddhism rose up through the fall of the han dynasty. The demise of the han dynasty brought chaos and disaster to the people of that region. During the tang dynasty people looked at this religion as a way of salvation, and solutions to their problems. The popularity of Buddhism made rulers curious about the religion. The tang dynasty had many different emperors, and each emperor treated the religion with different actions. Some emperors sent people to India to find out more information about it. Xuanzang a Buddhist monk went on a pilgrimage to India to find out more about this religion. This trip took sixteen years on is return to china he brought back with him books about Buddhism. He spent the rest of his life translating those books to the Chinese people, so they could gather a better understanding of how one should be a Buddhist. The Buddhist monk Xuanzang would later be honored by the emperor Gaozong for his services rendered. Also some emperors promoted the religion of Buddhism for personal gain. An example of personal gain through Buddhism is that of empress â€Å"Wu†. Buddhism gained great power during the time of empress â€Å"wu† who was the only woman ruler in the tang dynasty. She gained power when the third emperor died. Since the aristocracy before her control favored the Daoism and Confucianism religions’ over Buddhist, she encouraged the spread of Buddhism to weaken her opponents. The idea was that the more Buddhists there were, the less daoist there would be, and the weaker the aristocracy would be. The Buddhist revolution grew rapidly among the Chinese people during the tang dynasty. Buddhist monasteries played an important role in Chinese society during the tang dynasty, offering lodging for travelers in remote areas, and schools for children throughout the country. Buddhist monasteries were engaged in the economy, since their land, property, and serfs gave the government enough revenue to set up mills, oil presses, and other enterprises. The religion of Buddhism affected the tang dynasty because it influenced higher gover nmental officials, and in doing that it influenced the people and their actions. Daoism was another religion that was practiced during the tang dynasty. The primary beliefs of this religion is learning and practicing â€Å"the Way† which is the ultimate truth to the universe. Daoism has no single founder, such as Buddha with the religion of Buddhism, or Confucius with the religion of Confucianism. Daoism also does not have any key messages like the four noble truths of Buddhist or the five guidelines of Confucianism. Although Daoism was not the main religion of the tang dynasty it did play very important roles in history of the dynasty. Many daoist were associated with alchemy in their pursuits to find an elixir of immortality, and a means to create gold from mixtures of many different elements. Those daoist never did discover the way to make gold or an elixir of immortality, but did manage to discover new metal alloys and gun powder. Another religion that was associated with the tang dynasty was Confucianism, which had existed before Buddhism and Daoism. Confucianism enforced loyalty, order, respect, and was based compassion or kindness. Love for ones ancestors was necessary, and that old age associates with wisdom were ideas of this religion. Although Confucianism was a widely practiced belief system it lost much influence in the tang dynasty. The people during the tang dynasty believed in Buddhist concepts, and not the Confucian concepts. One concept that influenced the people into the ideas of Buddhism was karma. The people liked this idea because this was a time in Chinese history where many bad events were taking place and people were suffering. Confucianism says that suffering events were the events of fate and no one could control the outcome. Buddhist believed that suffering was due to a person’s behavior, and that if a person was good in their life they would be rewarded in the next life. Buddhists believed if a person was bad then he o r she would suffer in the next life. This concept is what sparked the transition from Confucianism to Buddhism during the tang dynasty. Buddhism also led to great literature during the tang dynasty. During the tang dynasty unforgettable literature was produced. Three of the more famous authors that came out of that time period were the writer and poet â€Å"Wang Wei†, â€Å"Li Bai†, and â€Å"Du Fu†. The writings of each person added greatness to that time period of the tang dynasty. â€Å"Wang Wei† was a gifted young person excelling in poetry, painting and music. When he was around the age of sixteen Wang Wei moved to the capitol city of the tang dynasty chang’an where he worked as a mid level government official, serving as assistant secretary of music. Wang Wei would later be transferred to another province due to a minor infraction. After that he would take up the role as a poet in exile living in an estate that he purchased on the Wang River after the death of his wife. This estate is where wang wei â€Å"began to cultivate in his poetry and painting the deep appreciation for and sensibility to landscape and nature for which he is celebr ated.† Wang Wei was a deeply religious person who practiced Buddhism. he lived his life in a simple way, not desiring the material things of the world. This statement is backed up by Pauline Yu by saying â€Å"His contemplative, dispassionate observations of the sensory world affirm its beauty at the same time as they call its ultimate reality into question, by emphasizing its vagueness, relativity, and ‘emptiness’.† Wang Wei was a person who transcribed great poetry during the tang dynasty. Another great poet of the tang dynasty that had a big influence on Chinese literature was â€Å"Li Bai† Research Papers on TANG DynastyAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeDefinition of Export QuotasPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBringing Democracy to Africa19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Canaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionQuebec and CanadaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfRiordan Manufacturing Production Plan

1996 Health care reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

1996 Health care reform - Essay Example It also endorses the graduate health learning and finance different health programs including a health program for children. There is also the pharmaceutical coverage program for the elderly, initial care, countryside wellbeing care and quality advancement (Rutherford, 2004). The enactment of this act came into effect in 1997. In 1997, the HRCA substituted almost twenty years of rate controlled health compensation with an assortment of bargained rates and persisting public funding for a varied combination of significant health connected schemes. This encompasses medical tutoring, destitute care and coverage initiatives for the uncovered. HCRA authorization has been conducted two times. This is in 1999 as well as in 2003. It was considerably modified in 2002. The expansions and modifications have extended health coverage for the uncovered, gives protection funding for small corporations and employed persons, and also funding to support health security for employees enrolment and retention. Finances for these extensions were to emanate from allotment of a part of the State tobacco payment money, escalated cigarette duties and a onetime augmentation of federal income (Charles and Carl, 2002). Moreover, the public funds sustained by HCRA came via three sources. Firstly, the Public Goods source endorsed by one percent state wide evaluation on hospitals net inpatient incomes, supplementary fees on hospital services as well as protected lives evaluations on sovereign coverage organizations. These organizations depend on the number of individuals protected. Secondly, there are funds from Tobacco Control and protection initiatives, initially endorsed by cigarette excises and tobacco payment finances. Thirdly, there are resources for the Bad Debt as well as Charity Care. There is also the destitute care and inconsistent share. The resources for this emanate from