Monday, January 27, 2020

The Changes of Market Shares for the Local Cars

The Changes of Market Shares for the Local Cars The local car market in Malaysia consists of local car manufacturers and companies that joint-venture with foreign company like Tan Chong and Datsun from Japan. The two main local car manufacturers are Proton and Perodua. Before the financial crisis in Malaysia at 1998, Proton was the leader in the local car market. Proton has the highest sales of cars than other car manufacturers. However, after the financial crisis, Perodua managed to take over the leadership in local car market. The main reason is Perodua has launched many new models as compared to Proton. The after-sales service by car manufacturer like Perodua was much better than Proton. The replacement parts for Proton is very far expensive than Perodua. Perodua also reduces their car prices to attract more buyers. Besides all these changes, the prices for the joint-venture cars are very expensive due to high sales tax and import duty. Currently, the sales tax is coming down for all the cars including local and foreign cars. T he joint-venture cars are expensive in Malaysia because they are considered as foreign cars and the government wants to encourage more local people to buy local cars. The local cars qualities are not par with the foreign cars. The new car buyers will look at the quality first before buying them. Lately, the car industries are very competitive because the foreign joint-ventures provide many new schemes to attract new car buyers. For example, they introduce the low interest financing which provide high loan and low interest rate. They want to attract more middle-income groups to buy their cars. The interest rate for national cars like Proton is higher than the non-national cars like Honda and Nissan. Even though the interest rate for national cars is high, the lower or middle income groups are likely to buy national cars. The main reason is the price for national cars are cheaper than the non-national cars. The EON Bank Bhd hire-purchase officer stated that: the banks revised interest rates for new non-national cars were 3.5% (5 year tenure), 4% (7-year) and 3.85% (9-year) while the rates for national cars now stood at 3.85% (5-year tenure), 4% (7-year) and 4.10% (9-year) (Yvonne Tan Eugene Mahalingam 2010, para. 6,7). For example, a proton car cost about RM 80,000 and the interest rate is 3.85% per annum. The new car buyer has to pay an interest of RM 3080. In contrast, a BMW car worth RM 300,000 and the interest rate is 3.5% per annum. The new car buyer has to pay RM 10,500 for interest. If a car buyer chooses to buy BMW, he or she has to pay an extra of RM 7420 of interest. The interest for both cars differs greatly because the price for both cars is totally different. The market shares among the local car manufacturers are divided when the new models from the joint-venture companies like Toyota and Nissan emerged into local car market. The table above shows the sales and production of passenger cars for the year of 2002 and 2003. For the year of 2002 and 2003, Proton maintained the leadership in the local car market. However, there was a decline in their sales volume from 214,373 units in 2002 to 155420 units in 2003 and their market shares fell from 59.6% to 48.6%. On the other hand, Perodua remained at the second position in the local car market. Peroduas sales volume fell from 114,265 units in 2002 to 111798 units in 2003 but their market shares rose from 31.7% to 35%. The new foreign cars like Toyota, Honda and Nissan have less market share in the local car market. The main reason is foreign cars price is much higher than the local cars like Proton and Perodua. Table 2 shows the analysis-by makes and segment for passenger vehicles. Before 2004, Proton has the largest market share in the local car market but after a few years, Perodua has overtaken Proton as the leader in the car sales. In 2008, Perodua managed to sell 167,392 units as compared to Proton that only sold 141,782 units. The market share for Perodua which is 33.6% is higher than Proton market share, 28.5%. The sales volume for Perodua increases from 166,735 units in 2009 to 188,641 units in 2010. The market share also rises from 34.3% to 34.7%. People like to buy Perodua cars because Perodua has better quality of model like Myvi. On the other hand, Protons sales volume increases from 141,782 units in 2008 to 147,744 units in 2009 and to 156,960 units in 2010. The market share for Proton cars rises from 28.5% in 2008 to 30.4% in 2009 but fell from 30.4% in 2009 to 28.9% in 2010. This drastic change happens because Proton cars are old-fashioned and Proton didnt change the model of the car but only modified them. Peroduas after-sales service is better than Protons after-sales service. It is always cheaper to maintain a Perodua car than a Proton car. The spare parts for Proton cars are expensive as compared to Perodua and the parts are in poor quality. The other foreign car like Honda increased their sales volume and market share in the local market. The sales volume for Toyota fell from 87,416 units in 2008 to 65,744 units in 2009 but increased to 71,065 units in 2010. The market share also fell from 17.6% in 2008 to 13.5% in 2009 and to 13.1% in 2010. Normally, the new car buyers will choose to buy national cars as the cars are cheaper than foreign cars. People cannot afford to buy the foreign cars because foreign cars double the price of national cars like Proton and Perodua. Besides this, the resale value for foreign cars is much higher than the local manufactured cars. Reasons for the Changes to the Local Car Market The two main reasons for the changes to the local car market are sales tax and excise duty and Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA). Sales tax is a single stage tax imposed at the import or manufacturing levels. (Taxation, 2011) All the buyers need to pay sales tax and excise duty for all vehicles whether is local manufactured or foreign assembled. The car buyers need to pay more if they buy foreign cars like Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Raslan Sharif (2011, p.49) noted these taxes are a source of considerable revenue for the Government as about 500,000 vehicles are sold every year in Malaysia. If the foreign car is too expensive, the new car buyers will prefer to buy local cars as they are cheaper and no import duties. For example, the original cost of a Honda car is RM 53,000, however, because of sales tax and excise duty, the Honda car has increased the price to RM 93,000. The new car buyer has to pay an extra of RM 40,000 for a Honda car. The price of a Toyota Vios in Malaysia is about RM 8 3,000 but in Thailand the car only costs for RM 43,000. Sales tax and excise duty can affect the sales of local cars or foreign cars. The Malaysian Insider stated that: Malaysians were currently paying eye-watering excise duties of between 65 to 105 per cent on top of 10 per cent in sales tax. (Lee Wei Lian, 2011) Sales tax and excise duty also decrease the quantity traded for local cars in the local car market. Excise duty is a type of tax that imposed on buyers. Excise duties are levied on selected products manufactured in Malaysia, namely cigarettes, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, playing cards, mahjong tiles and motor vehicles. (Excise Duty, 2011) Excise duty is an ad valorem tax levied on manufacture, sale, or use of locally produced goods. (Excise duty, Business Dictionary.com) Initially, the diagram above represents the demand and supply for the local cars. D0 is the initial demand for local cars and S0 represents the supply of the local cars. D0 and S0 are intersecting at point e0. The equilibrium price is P0 and the quantity traded for local cars is Q0. The supply of local cars shifts to the left from S0 to S1. The price of the local cars increases from P0 to P1. The quantity traded for local cars also decreases from Q0 to Q1. When the new car buyers know there is an increase in the price for local cars, they will not buy them. Eventually, the demand curve shifts to the left from D0 to D1. The quantity traded for local cars decreases from Q1 to Q2 and the price of the local cars become uncertain. Apart from sales tax and excise duty, the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) also contributes to the changes for the local car market. The sales tax and excise duty is coming down because of Asean Free Trade Area(AFTA). AFTA is a collective effort by ASEAN member countries to reduce or eliminate tariffs on intra-ASEAN trade in the goods sector. (Introduction, miti.gov.my) If there is no reduction in sales tax and excise duty, those investors would not want to invest in Malaysia and Malaysias local cars like Proton and Perodua cars cannot sell to other countries. Malaysias excise duty is much higher than other asean countries like Thailand and Indonesia. People would not want to buy Malaysias cars as their own countries cars have better quality and cheap. Conclusion In conclusion, there are a few changes to the local car market. Perodua has taken over the leadership from Proton in the local car market. The sales of the Perodua are better than Proton because Peroduas car is cheap and has better after-sales service. The car industries in Malaysia are competitive as more people are able to buy foreign cars. In my opinion, Malaysians mostly will choose foreign cars if they can afford to buy a foreign car. If they are in the low or middle-level income group, they would probably choose Peroduas car as their first choice. Proton cars have more car problems and in poor quality than Perodua cars. People would buy foreign cars as they would not depreciate much when compared to local cars. The resale value for local cars like Perodua and Proton are low too. Foreign cars are expensive because of the high taxation on foreign cars. I think that the government have high taxation on foreign cars in order to protect Proton. People have lost confidence on Proton cars as the model is lousy and the spare parts are expensive than other local cars like Perodua.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Critique of Geoffrey Canadas Fist Stick Knife Gun Essay -- Fist Stick

Critique of Geoffrey Canada's Fist Stick Knife Gun The Book â€Å"Fist Stick Knife Gun† by Geoffrey Canada is a biographical account of his childhood in the south Bronx. He and his 4 brothers were raised by only their mother. She would survive on no more than ten dollars a week. He moved several times as a child until finally landing on union avenue, the place were many of his life lessons were learned and at times applied. He learned about the ranking process of kids on union Ave. and how the only way to improve your status was to use your fists to fight your way up the chain. Looking back Geoffrey Canada notices the major shift in attitudes concerning the rules of the streets. What once was harmless fist fighting has now turned over to guns. His opinions can be seen in his title â€Å"Fist Stick Knife Gun†. One of the earliest lessons he ever learned was from his mother. She told all four of her boys to never let people think they were afraid and that they were never to become victims. This is shown with each word that Canada uses in his title. The first phase of his life consisted of â€Å"Fist†. He recalls the time when he first moved to Union Ave and he was trapped inside his apartment because he hadn’t established himself in the neighborhood. He would sit up in his 3rd floor apartment and jealously looked on, as all the other kids would play in the streets. One day his older brother John had enough and walked outside to face his fate. The rest of his brothers followed and eventually each got beat up as a pass to the streets. None of them showed their fears or their pain, a lesson that they first learned from their mother. This was only one of many steps/ factors in becoming an established individual not to be reckoned with. Age was the other factor to be considered. Th e older you were, the more respect you got from others. There were the young adults, who were the biggest and badest on the block. They weren’t usually around to defend their turf because they all belonged to a gang, however everyone knew they ruled all. Next were the mid-teen boys who were the â€Å"real rulers of Union Ave (18)† They were the ones who enforced the rules. The lower categories were the early teens and the pre teens. The early teens were just learning the rules whereas the pre teens couldn’t go off of the sidewalk. Geoffrey belonged to the lowest rung, the sidewalk group. As time wen... ...hese rules. They may seem unfair and even ridiculous to us outsiders, but that’s because we have more options of obtaining success than those caught in the belly of the slums. These codes are all that they have and without them, they would have no meaning in their lives, nothing to live up to day in and day out. They give these people a reason to wake up in the morning and a sense of pride that can’t be provided in any other way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Geoffrey Canada gives his readers a rare opportunity to look inside the life of a ghetto kid and what they have to go through just to survive. He also provides answers to the many questions asked of why certain things happen the way they do in the Bronx. He used his childhood experiences and turned them into a unique tool when helping the youth of today. Now that he works as a youth councilor he sees that the problem in the slums has gotten dramatically worse with the emergence of guns. It used to be about pride and status, now any thug with a gun can be feared in the community. This, to Canada is a major problem because guns gives kids a sense of power, a strong feeling that is often abused and results in someone, even an innocent person dead.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Brand Munchy Essay

1.0 Introduction Munchy’s is a brand for various product foods which is includes wafers, roll wafers and biscuit. Today, Munchy’s has produced more than 70 products which are biscuits, wafers and crackers. Captain Munch Cookies, Lexus Sandwich Crackers, Oat Krunch, Muzic & Nuss Wafer Cubes, Sugar & Lite Cream Crackers, Mini Sandwich Biscuits, Munchini, Yosss & Speed Wafer Sticks, Marie Biscuits and Gigabite Wafer Rolls are the best seller among the products of Munchy’s. Munchy’s is successfully in their branding and become number one wafer producer and number two for producing biscuits in Malaysia. Both Munchy Food Industries Sendiri Berhad (MFI) and Munchy World Marketing Sendiri Berhad (MW) are entities of Munchy’s. The main factory of munchy’s is located at Batu Pahat, Malaysia. There have around 60 countries and over 20 000 retailers in Malaysia is selling Munchy’s products. Besides that, 12 distribution and marketing offices is located in Malaysia , Singapore and Thailand. The mission of Munchy’s is to provide joyful, cheeky and reasonable price of biscuits and snacks for everybody. In 2020, Munchy’s wish to achieve 100 countries is distributing their products to accomplish their vision. Munchy’s believe that they can become a well-known brand with continuously development and improvement in their products. They will continue to work hardly for fun snack dream and be recognized as a brand that makes Malaysia proud. 2.0 SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic tool which is used to analyze the internal and external factors for helping to identify the organization’s goals by determining and overcome obstacles that will be faced (Ahmad Reza Ommani, 2011). SWOT can be divided into internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). Munchy’s always choose the best ingredients to produce delicious biscuit and wafers. Munchy’s believe that highest quality of biscuit and wafer stick is only can be produced with using the best ingredient. Thus, they are considerate all aspect when choosing supplier of ingredient. Besides that,  they also focus on their brand building by hiring an international adviser to create a unique and well-known brand around the world. Since Munchy’s biscuits are produce in Malaysia, it helps in lowering their production costs. Thus, Munchy’s has become Number 1 brand biscuit in Malaysia in 2008. Furthermore, strength of Munchy’s is focusing on product development continuously by designing product packaging and their brand image to attract more customers to support their product. Munchy’s is just emphasize on the packing of their products and how to make their product more creativity and innovative. This becomes weakness of Munchy’s as they don’t have various with their product and flavor. For example, Nestle Company has various products like milo, coffee, milk, yogurt, ice-cream and others. The value of their products in market can be enhanced with this variety of products as customers range is increased. Besides that, there are some products of Munchy’s which are quite sweets. It is not so suitable for people who have diabetes. Next, there will be Munchy’s opportunities. Munchy’s has joint ventures with retailers such as supermarkets. The benefits of consolidation with retailers are going to get better locations for franchisees. Besides that, Munchy’s also responds to social changes by doing innovation and development to produce healthier lifestyle biscuits such as Oat Krunch. Since the price of Munchy’s biscuits is quite reasonable, financial crises would not have impact on biscuit market. Furthermore, Munchy’s has a very good forecast for the future. In addition, Asians love sweets are also an advantageous to Munchy’s in promote their product.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Police Corruption Has Become A Major Problem - 1473 Words

Throughout history, police corruption has become a major problem in the United States. It is defined as a form of police misconduct that involves the act of either a single officer, or a group of officers who abuse their powers to achieve personal or departmental gains. From as early as the nineteenth century, corruption has not only affected law enforcement agencies, but also our continuously changing society. Even though police officers are predominantly seen as honest and professional, the few who are dishonest and corrupt tend to devalue the profession as a whole. Police corruption is a general problem that is seen in both second and third world countries and is usually investigated by internal affairs divisions. Oftentimes it is hard†¦show more content†¦This investigation also led to the establishment of the two main types of corrupt officers known as, the â€Å"meat-eaters† and â€Å"grass-eaters.† (The-Crankshaft Publishing, 2017) As stated by the Knapp Commission, Meat-eaters predominantly abuse their powers for personal gain, while grass-eaters simply accept payoffs or gratuities. Officers typically become grass-eaters to prove their loyalty to the brotherly allegiance, while others are influenced by or even become meat-eaters. (New York Post, 2016/17) It is a police officer’s responsibility, stated in the code of conduct, to serve, protect, and ensure the rights of the people; so it is baffling that some officers engage in these types of corrupt behaviors. Some theories suggest that these behaviors have to do with police discretion. Discretion is not a problem when used correctly, but when it is taken advantage of it can become a major problem. Police rules and regulations do not cover every situation, so when police officers are put in a situation where they need to make a decision, not all officers make the right one. In certain situations this could be the difference between life and death. Another suggested theory is lack of supervision. Many police officers do their work with very little supervision which could lead to officers not followingShow MoreRelatedLaw Enforcement : Public Safety1291 Words   |  6 PagesPolice Corruption By: Michael Dunn Law Enforcement 2nd Period Michael Dunn Mr. Manley April 24, 2015 Law Enforcement Public Safety Final The topic of public safety that I chose to research is corruption. Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers break their social contract and abuse their power for personal or department gain. Most common form of police corruption is accepting bribes for not interfering with drugRead MoreThe Corruption Of Police Corruption1484 Words   |  6 Pagesconcerning police officers, police corruption has become a major topic. Police officers seem to be making more questionable and unethical decisions according to the media. With these questionable actions, the idea that police officers are corrupt has been a steadily growing opinion. I will be focusing this literature review on the history of police corruption, mostly in major cities/countries; the nature of police corruption; the ethics involved in law enforcement; causes for police corruption and finallyRead MorePolice Discretion and Corruption Essay example1298 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fine Line between Police Discretion and Corruption Abstract In today’s law enforcement agencies there is a fine line between discretion and corruption. Imagine that you are a police officer, you pull over a car that you suspect is driven by someone who has had too much to drink. Upon reaching the window you find that it’s an old friend from school. Do you take him to jail or do you take him home? Police officers have the power to make this decision. In the world of the officer this couldRead MoreCrime And Its Effects On The Economy1244 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract The rampant crime in major cities such as Baltimore Maryland, Oakland California, and Detroit, Michigan has reached an all time high and the rates are going up with celerity. With many cities such as Detroit that have strong financial problems and few law enforcement officers on the street, how is it that the crime rate can be reduced. With drug rates and gang violence flooding large urban communities, it has become increasingly hard to break the cycle of crime throughout the followingRead MoreEssay on Police Brutality and Corruption681 Words   |  3 PagesPolice Brutality and Corruption Corruption in policing is viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer acting officially to fulfill his/her personal needs or wants. There are two distinct elements of corruption; 1) misuse of authority, 2) personal attainment. The occupational subculture of policing is a major factor in both creating police corruption, by initiating officers into corrupt activities, and sustaining it, by covering up corrupt activities by other officers. Police corruptionRead MoreIndia s Indian Corruption Crisis1643 Words   |  7 Pagesinstitutions, the Indian government has become extremely corrupt and this has caused Indians to lose trust in officials, feel unprotected by the authorities, which is causing chaos in politically weaker parts of India. The history of India, Inequalities, poverty, desire for wealth, and desire for power have led to the corruption in India, which is causing chaos in politically unstable parts of the country and causing the ‘Indian Corruption Crisisâ€⠄¢. The history of India has lead to India having issues inRead MorePolice Misconduct And The Criminal Justice System1039 Words   |  5 PagesPolice unethical operations, imposes high cost on police, the criminal justice system, and society. Criminal activity by a police officer undermines the basic integrity of law enforcement and the grounds which the laws were based on. Regardless if an officer takes a small bribe or is involve in a drug trade, the corruption forever change the relationship between communities and the face of justice. . . Unethical Police Operation When a Police Officer abuses his authority, it is called policeRead MoreA Brief Note On Corruption Of Police Administration1474 Words   |  6 Pages Corruption in Police Administration Andrew Broyhill University of Central Missouri CJ 2101 November 17, 2015 Dr. Etters â€Æ' Corruption in Police Administration Police corruption is a problem that has and will always impact us all. It has always existed and has changed policing in several dramatic ways. However, one simple element of corruption has always been apparent. It’s never NOT happening. Unfortunately, police corruption is an on going problem that isn’t slowing down. In fact, in the pastRead MoreThe Ethics Of The Police Agency Essay1715 Words   |  7 PagesPolice agencies have been traumatized with allegations of corruption and misconduct almost since the inception of law enforcement. In most organizations, an employee investigation is a sensitive issue. The employee being investigated can become unsettled, many times mentally and emotionally exhausted. Employees directly and indirectly involved can also become emotionally drained. Consider the impact an internal affairs investigation has within a police agency as it struggles to maintain the confidenceRead MoreThe Ethics Of Unethical Behavior1626 Words   |  7 Pagesis a wild beast loosed upon this world, Albert Camus. Police hold a unique position in our society. They are entrusted to protect and serve the people. Their position is also unique in that it easily can lead to corruption and violence when unethical behavior is allowed. In our current culture, unethical police culture to easily seems to become the norm. Minor unethical actions seem to be ever present and larger problems have shown to become rampant in some departments. Solutions need to be found