The Silk Road Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Silk Road - Essay Example And it was during 200 BC that Han rulers took control of Tarim region. The Silk Road was subsequently opened under China's control and the route to the Western part of the world started working. Chinese traders used Silk Road for the trade, which resulted in establishing of the Silk Road. Subsequently other countries also started using the road for carrying out their trade related activities thus strengthening the mutual relationship. In fact the 'silk road' is not a road as such, but a long stretch of trade route taken by the trading community. The trail spread mainly across Central Asia, resulted in prosperity not only along the route but in nearby regions as well, as branches from the main route emerged out of the Silk Road towards newer destinations in the interiors of the region. During those early days, the Roman, Parthian, Kushan, and Chinese worked towards providing stability to the Silk Road. Different countries had on offer different types of merchandise for China while Chinese started off with silk and then added more items on the trade. For example India traded with China in gems & jewelry, semiprecious stones, and glass which are the forte of India for many centuries. Buddhism also spread to from India to China through the silk route. The famous Chinese philosopher Fa-hsien, was one of first known Chinese travelers who took Silk Road for traveling towards India around 300 AD. Marco Polo, the famous traveler took 24 years while traveling through Asia. He also chose the Silk Road for his adventurous journey. His travels ignited the urge for industrialization in the Asian subcontinent. Today we can very well boast of the ICT era led technological boom in the industrial world, but historians credit Marco Polo's travelogue for bringing about the technological changes. In fact silk route led industrialization in this part of the world proved to be a turning point for the technological advancements. Marco Polo with his entourage did lot of purchasing from one region and sold it in another region along the silk route, which strengthened the trade practices along the Silk Road. The products sold by him were appreciated by the people, because till then people did not have much idea about the products being made by neighboring countries and regions. Though Osterhammel and Petersson identify the period from 1750 to 1880 as an era which gave rise to the phenomenon of free trade development and as an important step towards globalisation but Marco Polo's trade along the silk route, during the first half of 14th century could very well be termed as the beginning of globalisatio n. Trade along the Silk Road prospered during the times when China was ruled by a succession of non-Chinese dynasties belonging to different ethnic groups, as these groups depended to a great extent on outsiders for trade. Trade activities along the Silk Road suffered a decline owing to change in political equations in China and neighboring India. When power passed on to the Song dynasty, it proved to be weak in retaining control over strategically important central and northern part of China, which resulted in loss of control over Central Asian trade, thus diminishing the role of Silk Road. Subsequently Chinese rulers started paying more attention towards the sea route for carrying out trade. Subsequently when Mongols came to power during the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century, the Silk Road was once again revived for trade.

Global Marketing-Strategy and Practice ( Chili's ) Essay

Global Marketing-Strategy and Practice ( Chili's ) - Essay Example Now the restaurant chain is located in 49 states in USA and 30 other international locations. The restaurant mainly serves Tex-Mex food, which means Mexican and Texan food. Other than this they also offer other menu such as burgers, and vegetarian and non-vegetarian menu. In this report the aim is to plan out Chili’s launch in UK. The process of doing so begins with a complete analysis of the strategic factors (Brinker International, 2013). Chili’s Grill & Bar is also located in Australia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela, other than USA and Canada. Now it is planning to expand in London, UK. Every country is different and so its business environment. There are certain strategic factors which influence the decision-making of the companies during expansion or internationalization. Chili’s Grill & Bar has to consider strategic factors like international competitiveness, international growth, trade blocks, macro business environmental factors on which supply chain, logisti cs, and marketing would depend (Grant, 1991). Market Entry Modes This section will evaluates the market entry modes of Chili’s Grill & Bar in details, but before that decision on the international trade framework in UK is necessary. According to the American Marketing Association, international marketing is a multinational process which involves planning and implementation of concepts of promotion, pricing, and distribution strategies which will assist in providing satisfaction to the customers, and meet the objectives of the organisation (Doole, and Lowe, 2008). Chili’s Grill & Bar has to analyse the trade framework, trade barriers if any, taste and preference of the customers, players in the market, and most importantly the appropriate market entry mode, for expanding to London, UK (Barney, 1991, 1997). There various feasible entry modes available, but adaptation of entry modes depends on the trade policies of the country. Moreover, when it comes to food habits, ever y country is different, and people usually do not keep changing or adapting them like their fashion for clothes (Barney, 2001). UK is specifically depended on foreign trade for economic development. This is the reason why government of the company support unrestricted and free trade, and this initiative has also assisted UK in achieving recognition from European Union and World Trade Organisation. They have very free trade barriers or restrictions on foreign trade, and this proved by the fact that among 600 organisations in UK, around 60 are organisations from America. For attracting the foreign investors, the British government has adopted various programs like establishing enterprise zones, where the companies would be exempted from property, and the compensation for cost that is incurred by the companies for new factory construction. Incentives would be provided for companies located in the economically depressed areas (Advameg Inc., 2013). This are called Assisted Areas. Apart f rom this seven free trade zones are also offer. The extent of competitiveness in the international market is an important strategic factor which is considered because there are existing market leaders and players (Bengtsson, 1998). In London there are innumerable numbers of restaurants serving different cuisines, and also Mexican cuisines.