Apple Business Strategy

Apple BUSINESS STRATEGY Business Strategy Objective: To develop a market demand for Apple products in developing countries to insure the longevity of the Apple brand. Overview Apple inc. is a Multinational Corporation operating in 97 countries worldwide. It offers an array of products from computers to televisions to software. Apple is revered as a leader in innovative products that are both user friendly and ascetically pleasing. In the market of computers today, Mac and PC are more similar then anything in terms of hardware.

The memory in a MacBook Pro is almost identical to a comparable PC laptop. So where is the line that draws users to PC or Mac? The obvious difference is the OS or Operating System. Most desktop PC’s run on Windows OS while Apple has its own Mac OS. Bearing this in mind we dug deeper into the subject. Due to the fact that Apple already has a broad span of users in all parts of the world, we wanted to find out why it is that consumers here in the U. S.

choose PC over Apple. We asked ourselves why do we choose PC? The consensus was two things; price and custom.

We wanted to draw a higher demand for Mac computers without sacrificing profit. (IE price) What we are left with is custom. We concluded that the consumers are accustomed to their respective OS. Most corporations, schools, and government facilities here in the U.

S. use PC’s and people are simply drawn to PC because they are used to the interface. Bearing this in mind Apple is still able to draw in record profits in laptop sales. We view this analysis as an opportunity rather than a limitation to the Apple Corporation.

We approached this parody with one question in mind; how can we predispose people to use MAC OS? CHINA Some of the reasons of why to do business with China include: Improved international relations, government reforms, an expanding economy and increased foreign investment. It is necessary that those doing business in China learn about areas such business culture, business etiquette, meeting protocol and negotiation techniques in order to maximize the potential of their business.

Another important factor is that China is the largest country in term of population with a growing number of consumers and the fourth leading country in terms of size in the world. They have been supported by the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2001, which has allowed China to open up business with foreign nations. The Summer Olympic Games in 2008 also has helped Chinese companies go global, which are now taking over major multinationals. In 2008, China was the top reformer in East Asia as a result of effective reforms in several cities and good practice.

This range of reforms facilitated the easiness of doing business in China, particularly in the coastal regions and provided the local policy makers with powerful tools to build their private sector thus attracting higher levels of investment.

These reforms along with the low labor costs make China an attractive location for outsourcing and foreign direct investment. Foreign companies view China as a huge, almost niche market with an immense potential to grow, where profit margins are big enough to earn a reasonable return.

Swift economic growth is bringing a wide variety of goods to middle and lower income segments, which are the 90% of China’s entire consumer goods market. China’s real GDP growth indicated an average real growth of 10. 6% from 2002 to 2007, while in 2007 only reached 11. 4%, which is roughly 2% lower than Germany’s GDP and ranks China as the fourth economy in the world.

Although forecasts estimate real GDP growth to decelerate from 9. 8% in 2008 to 8. 2% in 2013, the figure is impressive considering that the domestic demand will be boosted due to a strong wage growth.

China’s gross domestic product per capita is estimated to $6,000 per year by 2010, equivalent to $24,000 when adjusted for purchasing power parity, which qualifies Chinese households as middle class by U. S.

standards. But on the other hand, there are still distinct problems to be considered when doing business in China. There are different levels of income and consumption in the different areas of China. Dissimilarities in education, consumption, power, personal habits and tastes lead many multinational companies to view China as one nation, but certainly not one national market.

While overseas companies focus on the premium market, China’s domestic consumer goods companies compete in principal for middle and low income consumers. Also, the new labor law introduced in January 2008 has improved labor protection and wage regulations, but most importantly it has raised China’s factory labor cost substantially causing foreign investors in labor intensive, low margin industries to reconsider their Chinese establishments.

China made products are also put under scrutiny with respect to quality, hygiene and safety problems.

In a global environment, which is driven by trade friction and financial insecurity, these problems may make it even more politically difficult for China to net result a good year. Antidumping Law According to China’s anti dumping laws many imported products enter China at a price lower than their actual export value, and actually cause damage, or cause a potential danger, to domestic enterprises. Labor laws (General Provision 4) 4- Employers shall establish and improve labor rules and regulations, so as to ensure that workers enjoy their labor rights and perform their labor obligations.

When an Employer formulates, revises or decides on rules and regulations or material matters concerning labor compensation, work hours, rest, leave, work safety and hygiene, insurance, benefits, employee training, work discipline or work quota management, etc.

But China has never had a particularly good reputation for worker conditions. To improve the situation, a new national labor law went into effect in China on January 1, 2008 that was designed to limit work hours, ensure paid overtime, and guarantee severance pay. Despite that the law has not being enforced to the fullest.

The branch of Apple that’s already in China has sets the maximum work week at 60 hours over six days, with at least one full day of rest. But 49 of the 83 audited factories had violations of that policy, with 35 showing other frequent violations.

Among some of the problems that apple has found in China include overly long working hours, and a couple incidences of employee discipline that may have crossed the line as far as Apple’s Code of Conduct for its manufacturing partners is concerned. Sources – Foresman, Chris. “Labor issues in China continue to plague Apple and thers. ” http://arstechnica. com.

arstechnica, July 15, 2009 3:30 PM. Web. 13 Apr 2010. ;lt;http://arstechnica. com/apple/news/2009/07/labor-issues-in-china-continue-to-plague-apple-and-others.

ars;gt;. 2- Cada, Joe. “Lehma, lee & Xu. “Laws of The Republic of China. ”  http://www. lehmanlaw.

com/ United Arab Emirates The Arab Emirates was formally established as a federation on December 2, 1971 when under increased pressure from Iran taking over minor islands in its vicinity. The Arab Emirates is made up of 7 independent states.

They use a modified political system of integration. They use the same currency (dirham) and have one President of the Emirates but each state has its own leader and tax system; much like the system in the United States. That could be a major drawback in the sale of apple products across borders. UAE’s growth rate in 2007 was a steady 5.

7%. 1 It is a major supplier of crude oil in the world, and is now reaping the benefits of the increase in oil prices and demand. With this the UAE government and its citizens have been continuously increasing its industries.

The UAE has a relatively established infrastructure with new technology implemented. The UAE has an extensive education system both private and public.

Children are schooled from Kindergarten all the way to the University levels. A rush of funding to the higher university sector of education allowed the Chairman of Higher learning to offer a spot for every student that applied to public higher learning institutions in 2009. 1 The UAE is already making great efforts to further expand itself in the technology sector.

It is developing its own version of Silicon Valley that will specialize in the innovation of microchips, and will be the first of its kind in the UAE. 1 In conclusion, the UAE is not an efficient country to pursue a technology based business venture for Apple. They’re extensive technological sector and education infrastructure makes competition fierce in this Emirates.

Australia Australia, the vast island continent situated southeast of Asia, is well known for its natural beauty, multiculturalism, and diverse population.

The country’s vast geographical variety has given Australia much of its character, creating a land of cultural fusion and enriching opportunity. In order to fully understand the complexity of this nation, it is necessary to gain and understand the fundamental concepts of its culture. 1 OPopulation – 21,262,082 OOfficial Languages – English OSize – 7,741,220 sq km (6th largest in the world) OCurrency – Australian dollar (AUD) OGDP – purchasing power parity $666. 3 billion OGDP Per Capita – purchasing power parity $32,900 OInflation Rate – 5% OUnemployment Rate – 5. 3% Business in Australia

Australia is ranked #9 on easiness for doing business.

Their relative market appeal is convincing, with few barriers to entry, a familiar legal and corporate framework, sophisticated consumer and industrial sectors and a straightforward, English-speaking, business culture. The Australia-U. S. Free Trade Agreement enhanced the long and successful trading relationship by eliminating tariffs on almost all U. S. manufactured and agricultural goods.

2 Australia is about the size of continental United States, with a population of about 21 million (14 times less the population of United States).

With the total population being so small, the target market will be small as well and the market share that a company could possibly get will be proportional to the total population. Economic Growth Australia enjoyed annual economic growth without interruption for nearly two decades. Growth of about 3. 2% continued in 2008 (down from 4. 3% in 2007), however, most economic forecasts expect growth to be negative in 2010.

Australia’s history, distance from the rest of the world, large land area and relatively small population led to market dominance by a few large firms in certain sectors.

Australia is integrated into the world economy and remains a commercial and financial center for the region. American companies will find that Australian and third-country competitors in Australia have some long-established brands with strong reputations and existing supplier relationships. 3 Australia has ready access to Asian and other, low-cost producers. American firms must therefore demonstrate sufficient added value to overcome the costs of getting the product to market, and to compete against lower-cost producers in the region. 1 http://www.

communicaid. om/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20Australia. pdf 2 http://www. doingbusiness. org/ExploreEconomies/? economyid=12 The Australian Market The cost of entering the market it is overall expensive.

Cost of registration, fees and taxes are high and are charged every three years in some states. For every state your company establishes headquarters in (there is a total of 8 states), all fees and taxes are to be paid. Some U. S. entrepreneurs and companies are shocked at the very high wages, which are at least twice what similar jobs pay in the United States—even for service jobs.

Labor costs are usually a company’s greatest expense. However, unlike the United States, companies in Australia need not worry about health insurance, since a government health-insurance plan covers all Australians, regardless of their employment status. 4 Individuals are taxed at the normal marginal rates of tax – with the top tax rate being 46. 5% (including the 1. 5% Medicare levy).

In contrast, Australian companies are taxed at a flat company tax rate of 30%. 3 http://www. buyusa. gov/australia/en/overview. html 4 http://www.

incorporator. com. au/pros-cons-company. asp RUSSIA

Russia is the world’s biggest country in terms of territory with a vast amount of natural resources, a greatly educated labor force, and technologically superior investigate and manufacture capabilities. Russia is continuously growing stronger as an incorporated country in worldwide markets. There are abundant aspects of the Russian industry environment that have to be taken into account when following international business benefits in this country.

Some important information about Russia is fundamental to take in contemplation when we are analyzing the option or possibility of doing business in this particular country. Population: Over 140 million (world’s eighth largest) * Size: 17. 1 million sq km (world’s largest) * GDP: ? 640bn (world’s 11th largest) * GDP growth rate: 8. 1 per cent * Unemployment rate: 6. 2 per cent * Inflation: 11.

9 per cent * Life expectancy at birth: men – 59, women – 73 Active Economic Growth – Russia possess one of the most dynamically emergent and attractive economies in the planet. As 1999, GDP development has averaged 6. 78% per yr and reached 8. 08% in 2007 (in comparison to 4 to 5% standard world economic increment).

Thanks to the intensification ruble, in dollar expressions the 1999 to 2007 GDP increase was an shocking 25. 9 % per year, distant exceeding worldwide growth rates.

Social and Political System – The Russian wealth has accomplished macroeconomic and financial solidity. Living standards have been progressively advancing, with per capita GDP getting to the zenith of US$10,000 in latest years. They contain a sturdy macroeconomics being the world’s third maximum foreign exchange reserves, and important government reserve (US$140. 96 bn. ) and National interests (US$48. 57 bn.

) resources.

Russia is member of the United Nations, G8, SCO, APEC, and the CIS. The Russian Government support rates are several of the maximum along with the world’s principal democracies. Cautious community policy devoted to improving all features of excellence of life and progressively increasing superiority of life. The Taxation System – With an individual income tax rate of 13% for people who live in Russia, company tax rate of 24%, and VAT rate of 18%, Russia taxation system has one of the most generous non-offshore tax systems in the planet, intended to promote venture and additional ways to develop the economy.

Tax reform prolongs to progress ahead in Russia, with a visible diminution in the regularity of onsite tax examinations from one time a year to one time every two or three years, according to Ernst & Young’s 2008 investigation of taxation problems in Russia.

Technology – The strong Russian systematic information provides outstanding opportunities for Research & Development partnerships with Russian investigate universities and institutes. While Russia is in the possession of a quantity of the principal oil and gas reserves in the world, some of them include and had became harder to recuperate.

This is a enormous opportunity to commence pioneering technologies to expand new gas and oilfields. Education – Russians have vast familiarity with education with technology, specially computers, and children have been being educated with IT technology in the classroom since 1986. Step by step, the utilization of digital educational curriculums, internet resources and e-mail has become even more consistent in educational practice. They have form ventures with Intel companies. A program of study named ‘Developing IT in the Educational System’ has been place into action by the Russian association and the World Bank.

Today plays a huge purpose in the establishment and broaden of innovative electronic teaching materials and the instruction of teachers in how to employ them. Additionally, Intel has been managing an educational curriculum in Russia, called Intel Teach, since 2002. Citations http://en. wikipedia.

org/wiki/Education_in_Russia http://www. studyrussian. com/MGU/russian-education-system. html http://www. infoplease. com/ipa/A0107909.

html http://ec. europa. eu/economy_finance/publications/publication10969_en. pdf http://www. tradingeconomics.

com/Economics/GDP-Growth. aspx? Symbol=RUB Brazil

Brazil declared its independence from the Portuguese on September 7, 1822, but became a republic on November15, 1889. Brazil is considered the fifth largest country in the world and the biggest on in South America. They currently have a population of roughly 199 million citizens and it’s growing at a 1. 199% based on 2009. Their form of government is a democratic republic and they have a presidential system in which the president is elected to serve a four year term.

Brazil is considered as one of the major growing countries in the world, but they are also the political and financial leaders in Latin America.

Brazil is considered to be one of the dominant economies 40 years from now, which makes them an interesting candidate for our business strategy since it’s economy is expected to keep growing in the future years. Brazil’s GDP is $2. 024 trillion as of 2009 and is in top 10 in the world. Its GDP had a significant growth in the few years with 6.

1% in 2007 and 5. 1% in 2008; unfortunately in 2009 it only grew by 0. 1%, this decline in the growth rate worries us because puts in question whether or not its economy will keep growing at a fast rate or if it has reached a stabilizing point. Brazil’s service sector is 67. % of its GDP which is good for us since most of the service sector uses computers.

Brazil has about 65 million internet users, a pretty high number as it ranks fifth in world and it really grabs our attention since apple’s computers are know for not getting viruses the Brazilian population would probably like our products. The literacy and education level in Brazil is in actual fact pretty high. About 176 million Brazilians or 88. 6% of its population are considered to be able to read and write. We think this number is fair enough if you take into consideration that most of its surface it’s covered with the Amazon Rainforest.

We are not expecting the people living around these areas to be highly educated or familiar with technology, since most of them are most likely indigenous people. Brazil’s government spends 4% of its GDP in education which is about $0. 08 trillion. Brazil has been chosen to host both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games. Both of these games will boost up Brazil’s economy by bringing in large amounts of revenue since they would be expecting lots of people coming into the country due to these games. Brazil’s current currency is the Real(R$), $1.

7 Real’s equals 1 US Dollar. Brazil pegged its currency to the US Dollar in 1994, but five years later they went back to free float. 1 Their main exports include coffee, electrical equipment, steel, ethanol, corned beef, soybeans and among others. Some of the problems that Brazil faces today are the high inequality of income distribution and the crime problems. 2 They are ranked #58 in crime in addition to the threat for piracy and this could be a problem for us since there can be people who can steal or try to copy our technology.

As the International Maritime Bureau says, the territorial and offshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean are a significant threat for anyone shipping to Brazil. They have reported armed robberies against the ships, crews have been robbed and cargoes have been stolen while the ships have been at anchor or underway. 3 Lots of our shipments can be stolen here and face a threat of piracy. Also our products tend to draw attention from a lot of people, which can make people think twice before getting an iPod or iPhone since they most likely would not be able to walk around the streets with it as it might get stolen. 1http://en.

ikipedia. org/wiki/Brazil 2https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br. html 3https://www. cia.

gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br. html INDONESIA In Indonesia the battle is between Today’s reigning Smartphone kings: iPhone and BlackBerry. Walk into any business hub in Jakarta, any shopping center, or even high schools and colleges. You’ll see people playing with their shiny trackball, eyes glued to the 2. 5in screen. Yes, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry is the king of the hill in Indonesia’s profitable Smartphone market and it looks likely that RIM will continue to thrive there.

With Indonesia’s five cellular operators (Axis, Indosat, Smart, Telkomsel and XL Axiata) working as authorized distributors of BlackBerry phones, consumers have had no doubts about jumping on the the bandwagon to use the BlackBerry. There is close to 10 percent growth in BlackBerry sales in Indonesia. And RIM consistently looks to cooperate with local application developers, including universities. RIM also had constructive and promising talks with several universities in Indonesia.

And one important thing is that they have online tools and Java developer kits that can simplify the developers’ work in building local-content apps for Blackberry users.

Corporate executives and managers are not the only ones who need constant connection through the internet. Teenagers also need to have their stream of uninterrupted communication, something that a BlackBerry phone provides through its BB Messenger and push e-mail features. Back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Apple took the world by storm. Apple’s iPod later followed by the iPhone introduced to the world innovative ways of interacting with your gadget.

And Apple’s marketing machine has been doing wonders introducing the products to the world. The market for Apples Smartphone in America, Europe and many other countries are clear declarations of the company’s prowess.

Even in economically challenging times Apple reported sales of more than 4. 3 million iPhones in the last quarter alone, the best in the company’s history. Indonesia is proving to be a tough market to enter for Apple. The BlackBerry is leading the way in terms of sales and then there are the new Smartphone’s like Google’s Nexus, Motorola’s Droid and the Palm Pre.

Also consumers aren’t willing to pay for Apples iphone, it’s too expensive for this market. Also, interaction using the touch screen interface has not really caught on in Indonesia.

“Forget iPhone’s award-winning work and productive software, or great games with beautiful graphics developed by the world’s major developers. ” iPhones that are sold in Indonesia carry large price tags, a major flaw in the local marketing strategy. Some Indonesians bought the iPhone for its standard functions without knowing about the tens of thousands of apps that they can buy or get for free: “Indonesian iPhone users think the apps are only for iPods.  Another reason for Apples failure in Indonesia is the consumers still see Apple as the maker of the Macintosh, which has a reputation for its high price-tag for the selected few, and is strongly embedded with the culture. In 2009 RIM had a run in with the Indonesian government over the availability of the Blackberry after-sales service proving the Smartphone’s dominance in the country: the people were eager to get their hands on the phone and didn’t think about the lack of service centers in the country. The BlackBerry operating system may not be as glamorous as the other Smartphone’s, but it delivers rapid, simple communication.

And a simple operating system wins the day every time with Indonesians. So, when the consumers of the country are faced with the question, which smart phone to get, an iPhone or a BlackBerry? Indonesians will choose the more practical, easy-to-use communication at an affordable price. The simple and organized structure of the Blackberry, such the calendar, Windows office, a camera, a music player, and games are demanded by consumers. Facebook and other social networks as well as push e-mail continue providing business people with more ways to maintain contacts and gain new ones, Indonesians see BlackBerry as the better choice.

The companies that win are those that come out strongest and try hardest to entice Indonesian smartphone users. ”  INDIA Pros * India is a good place because of its steady growth and its abundance in highly skilled manpower. It provides enormous opportunities for investments. India is the largest democracy and 12th biggest economy in the world. India has the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.

* India has a federal Government with clear separation of powers between the Central Government and the State Governments. * India provides a liberal, attractive, and a business friendly investment climate. India has the most liberal and clear policies on foreign direct investment among other major economies of the world. * India has freed up and simplified foreign exchange controls. * The Indian economy has been growing at an average growth rate of about 8. 5% over the last five years.

The growth rate between 2008-09 was 6. 7%. * Government of India gives high priority to the development of infrastructure in highways, airports, ports, power, railways, telecom, etc. The Government is actively seeking domestic and foreign private investment for infrastructure development. India has the universal ability to speak English within professional class * Thorough protection of intellectual property rights * They put a lot of emphasis on product quality in the manufacturing sector. Cons * Underdeveloped transportation system, energy production, and distribution * training and retention costs can offset low employment wages * Not a member of the World Trade Organization * Many people are illiterate, India has over 35% of the total illiterate people in the world.

Only 66% of their people are literate. * About 40 million primary school-age children in India are not in school.

More than 92% children cannot progress beyond secondary school. According to reports, 35% schools don’t have infrastructure such as blackboards and furniture. And close to 90 percent have no functional toilets.

Half of India’s schools still have leaking roofs or no water supply. * 89% of rural households do not own telephones; 52% do not have any domestic power connection. There are daily power cuts even in the nation’s capital. The average brownout in India is three hours per day during non-monsoon months, 17 hours daily during the monsoon.

The average village is 2 kilometers away from an all-weather road, and 20% of rural habitations have partial or no access to a safe drinking-water supply.

Assessment of India India would be the ideal place to market Apple products because it has such a huge potential for growth in the electronics sector. India’s economy has been growing at an average of 7% per year since 1997. The market share in this country is tremendous, with a population of 1. 1 billion. Apple products have high potential in this country. The economic laws of India are also up to par and can support a business venture like what we are planning to do.

They have copy right laws in place, so as to protect Apple product from imitators. India is a signatory to the TRIPS Agreement hence it modified its patents law in conformity with TRIPS Agreement. The TRIPS Agreement protects Copyright and Related Rights, Trademarks, Geographical Indications, Industrial Designs, Patents, Layout designs of Integrated Circuits, and Protection of Undisclosed Information. There are also many laws to protect employee’s rights. This is very good since we would be able to ensure proper treatment of Apple employee’s in that country.

Smartphone’s have now become the norm of the day, especially with the people continuously on the move and those who want to keep in touch with the office mails.

Smart phones are expected to gain 70% of the market share in the future. As of now the current leader in smart phones in India is HTC. With the introduction of the Iphone in India we expect to gain a large market share very rapidly. Employees’ Rights: 1. The Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1923 provides for compensation to workers for industrial accidents and occupational diseases resulting in isability and death.

The minimum compensation for death is Rs80,000 and for total disability Rs90,000. The maximum compensation for death is Rs456,000 and for total disability is Rs548,000. 2. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 call for regular and timely payment of wages, industry wage boards to recommend the minimum wage and fix the wage-rate structure for each industry. 3.

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 covers layoffs, retrenchment compensation, labor-management disputes and unfair labor practices.

The Act also addresses reinstatement of workers by a labor court or tribunal order that the employer can appeal to a higher court. A reinstated worker is entitled to 100% of wages while the decision of the higher court is pending. * The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1959 requires employers in industrial establishments to define conditions of employment. * The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 covers mandatory maternity benefits. * The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 requires employers to pay a gratuity to workers earning less than a certain limit upon termination of service.

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 prohibits job and wage discrimination based on sex, except for prohibiting or restricting the employment of women in certain categories of work. * The Essential Service Maintenance Act, 1981 empowers the government to prohibit strikes in any industry that is declared essential. * The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibits child labour in hazardous occupations and regulates it in non-hazardous occupations. * The Trade Unions Act, 1926 provides for registration of trade unions. By way of amendment in 2001, it reduced the multiplicity of trade unions. ttp://www.

iptu. co. uk/content/india_employment_law. asp Copyright Laws: The Copyright Act, 1957 protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and cinematograph films and sound recordings from unauthorized uses. Unlike the case with patents, copyright protects the expressions and not the ideas.

There is no copyright in an idea. Copyright does not ordinarily protect titles by themselves or names, short word combinations, slogans, short phrases, methods, plots or factual information. Copyright does not protect ideas or concepts. To get the protection of copyright a work must be original.

A work means any of the following, namely, a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a cinematograph film, or a sound recording. Copyright protects the rights of authors, i.

e. , creators of intellectual property in the form of literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works and cinematograph films and sound recordings. Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created and no formality is required to be completed for acquiring copyright. However, facilities exist for having the work registered in the Register of Copyrights maintained in the Copyright Office of the Department of Education.

The entries made in the Register of Copyrights serve as prima-facie evidence in the court of law.

The Copyright Office has been set up to provide registration facilities to all types of works and is headed by a Registrar of Copyrights and is located at B. 2/W. 3, C. R. Barracks, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi- 110 003, Tel: 338 4387 The general rule is that copyright lasts for 60 years. In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the 60-year period is counted from the year following the death of the author.

In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and works of international organizations, the 60-year period is counted from the date of publication. http://copyright. gov. in/ Anti-dumping law: The effect of dumping has been felt by India’s domestic industries recently with the removal of ‘quantitative restriction’ and lowering of custom duty. Indian laws were amended with effect from 1 January 1995 to bring them in line with the provisions of the respective GATT agreements.

Sections 9A, 9B and 9C of the Customs Tariff Act 1975 as amended in 1995 and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules 1995, form the legal basis for anti-dumping investigations and imposition of duty.

Section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended in 1995 and the Customs Tariff Rules, 1995 framed there under form the legal basis for anti-dumping investigations and for the levy of anti-dumping duties. These are in consonance with the WTO Agreement on anti-dumping measures.

These rules form the legislative framework for all matters relating to dumping of products, which include the substantive rules, rules relating to practice, procedure, regulatory mechanism and administration. http://www. sethassociates.

com/antidumping-law-in-india. html SCORECARD Our scorecard consists of 6 sections. Within a section each country was scored on a 1-7 spread; 1 being the worst 7 being the highest. A total score was given after the first 5 sections were ranked. The two countries with the highest scores were our finalists for the next round of considerations. The sixth section was the final information taken into account.

The scores and statistical analyzation of each country was interpreted and our final decision was made. Although we did have final scores for each country, other external information and trends were taken into account for our decision process (crime, outsourcing, demand etc. )  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | SCORECARD| Brazil| Russia| India| China| UAE| Indonesia| Australia|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1. Percentage GDP of the Services Sector| 6| 4| 5| 2| 3| 1| 7| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2. Computers per capita/ Internet users| 5| 4| 6| 7| 1| 3| 2| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3. Education| 4| 3| 6| 7| 1| 5| 2| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | .

Threat of Innovation Pirates| 3| 5| 4| 2| 6| 1| 7| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5. Spending in Education| 5| 4| 6| 7| 1| 2| 3| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Total Points| 23| 20| 27| 25| 12| 12| 21| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 6. Legal Barriers to FDI|  |  | 5| 4|  |  |  | The first category in the scorecard is the percentage of GDP in the service sector. In this category we are looking at how big the service sector is in each country. This is important for us to take into consideration because the service sector uses a lot of computers. The country with the highest percentage of GDP in the service sector is Australia with 71.

% of its GDP. Brazil trailed them in second continued by India, Russia, United Arab Emirates, China, and Indonesia. Internet users make up the second category on the scorecard. Internet users is really important for our business plan since we are trying to increase the amount of apple computer users, and we think that with apple’s internet browser since apple computers are known for not getting viruses so, we can attract a lot of new more of customers in to buying Mac’s. In this section we ranked the countries based on the number of people that use the internet.

China was the country with the highest number of internet users followed by India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates respectively. Another category used for our scorecard was Education or Literacy. Education was picked as one of our grading categories because it tells us the number of people that are considered educated and that can operate a computer. The number of literate people in each country doesn’t necessarily mean that all know how to use a computer, but it tells us the number of people that we can work with in trying to expand our market.

Also, we are taking into account the percentage number of the population that is educated.

This important since all these countries are developing countries and the percentage of literate people in some countries would probably increase meaning a more educated population and a bigger number of people that we can work with. In education China was ranked as the highest with 1,217,151,000 people which is 90. 9% of its population. India came in second with 705,770,000 people or 61% of the population which we think is very important since its low and it’s a developing country we expect this numbers to go up probably to where China is at.

The rest of the countries ranked as follows: Indonesia as third followed by Brazil Russia, Australia, and United Arab Emirates accordingly.

Our fourth category taken into consideration is the threat of innovation piracy. In this section we are looking at what countries could be bad for us meaning that apple’s technology or ideas can be stolen. We ranked the countries based on what would be a safe country to do business with. In this category Australia came up as the safest country followed by United Arab Emirates, Russia, India, Brazil, China, and Indonesia.

Finally the last category used to rank the countries is what the countries spend in education.

To rank the countries with find the GDP for each country and the percentage they spend on education in order to calculate an accurate number of how much each country spends in education, since the percentage doesn’t really demonstrate exactly how much each country is spending. China was the country that spends the most on education followed by India, Brazil, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, and United Arab Emirates. We added all of the scores up and came up with a total for each of the seven countries.

The results were the following; India came up with 27 points, China got 25 and Brazil 23, followed by Australia with 21 points, then Russia with 20 and finally both Indonesia and UAE with 12 each. These totals help us picked the two countries with the highest score in order to do a more in depth research about any legal barriers to do a Foreign Direct Investment that we should know about before we decide which country to do business with.

The countries with the highest scores and that we choose were India and China. Penetration of Indian Market

MAC has a higher price point then comparable PC’s. How can we market a relatively expensive product to a country where more than half of its citizens live at the poverty line? Our plan is one that interconnects social improvement of the Indian community as well as predisposing the Indian community to the Apple line of products. India is a part of the UN’s Millennium project. This project’s third goal is to provide Primary schooling to all children. India is increasing its budget on education significantly to reach this goal.

This is an excellent opportunity for Apple. Phase 1: Enrichment program Our first milestone will be to contact the Indian government and offer our assistance in helping its schools to become more technologically advanced. 30% of the Indian population is under the age of 15. That means if we can get computers into half the schools then we will essentially expand our user base by 15% of one billion people. This will give our brand a much higher chance of being purchased by those students that were familiarized with Mac at an early age.

Our plan does not call for cutting edge technology to be implemented into the schools; instead we propose the use of out of date inventory that apple has to facilitate this venture. This inventory would otherwise have to be disassembled and sold at salvage value. Doing this would also ensure we abide by anti dumping laws with the argument that we are not selling at a rate less then what it cost to make because the technology would be sold at salvage value not cost to produce.

So what we cannot market in the US and other developed countries because it is obsolete, we can in turn sell it to the Indian schools at a far cheaper price then what PC’s can offer and still turn a profit. So our proposition gets the Indian community computers in all of their primary education facilities at a rock bottom price to the government. Once these users grow up and Indian society becomes more integrated with the use of computers, the demand for Apple laptops will rise; realizing our objective of increasing the market demand for Apple products.

The first phase of the enrichment program begins June 1, 2010.

We will deliver 200,000 refurbished Apple computer units to the government of India for their universities. We will sell these units for $50 per unit ($10 million), with these revenues we will produce more refurbished units, not turning a profit until our next delivery. Based on the response from the demand for the computers our next shipment will be December 1, 2010, we will deliver 600,000 units. Every six months we will deliver 200,000 more units than the previous delivery until Dec 2015 where we will have reach 18. 2 Million Refurbished units being used by schools in India Phase 2: The Mac experience

Our primary profit margin will be in the sale of MacBook laptops.

The MacBook Pro 2 is speculated to be released somewhere around late 2011. By this time we will have implemented 1 million computers to the primary schools. Although our target demographic is under the age of 15 for the enrichment program, our target demographic is between the age of 17 and 25 for our Macbook Pro sales. To help build notoriety and brand recognition within this demographic while those in phase 1 come of age, we will implement a scholarship program called “The Mac Advantage. In this program we will use our advertising budget to have billboards etc. placed around high traffic areas and Universities letting students know that Apple is awarding Macbook Pro’s to those students that write a compelling essay about how Mac can help change their everyday lives and where Mac would be most efficient in the Indian culture.

Not only will this help Apple build its consumer base, it will also in turn give Apple insight as to where the Indian community (particularly the target demographic) wants to see more of Apple products. .

January 2015 we will introduce the Macbook Pro 2 to the retail stores in India. We will deliver 600, 000 Mac Pro 2 Units to India in 2015 starting with 85,000 in January, 190,000 in June and 325,000 in December. These units will appeal to university students, roughly 500,000 of them. We will offer these new units with a large discount, 20-30% off with proof of enrollment in Universities.