Analysis of McDonalds’ Expansion Strategy

Analysis of McDonalds’ Expansion Strategy Introduction: McDonalds is one of the most giant burger brands in the global fast food chain which is presented in nearly 120 countries (Keegan and Green, 2013). However, McDonald still has to challenge with a number of problems arisen in not only home market but also global market (CBS Chicago, 2014). Based on its report of final quarter last year, there was a huge number of its customers purchasing McDonalds’ products has been decreased. Especially in the U.S market in 2013, the company has lost more than 1.6 percent of its customers compared to the same moment with previous years (CBS Chicago, 2014). Question 1: McDonalds has lost its customer attraction in home market, however, its reputation is still popular in emerging markets due to the lack of trust on their local brands (Doctoroff, 2014). Understanding this opportunity, McDonald has made a decision of expanding its business to the global market (Rudarakanchana, 2013). Though McDonalds segmented its business in a number of parts, the quality of its products and services has been claimed that: â€Å"McDonald’s was built on a strong foundation of a core menu that we took around the world but we need to make sure we are more locally relevant,† (Grant, 2006). In particular, the quality of its products will be locally delivered that is different with other regions by applying ‘polycentric orientation’ which related to ‘localized approach’ (Keegan and Green, 2013). This answer will use four main aspects of marketing mix to analyse how McDonalds run its business locally in its segmentations. Product: When McDonalds entered the India market, it coped with the problems of beefs products in there because the most Indian people follow the Hinduism avoid using meat from beef or cow (Rowley, 2012). Hence, McAloo Tikki which is a beef-free burger has been provided in the India market and quickly became the most favourite products in India McDonalds (Hickman, 2013). In addition, in the France, McDonalds has also produced the McCamembert for the local market which using the Camembert cheese the popular cheese brand in France (Tepper, 2013). Moreover, McArabia burger product, which uses chicken sandwiched between a long bread, has been presented in the Middle East market (Hickman, 2013). Place: McDonalds’ expansion strategy has been executed with a huge number of nearly 40 thousands stores in over 110 countries (McDonalds, 2014). Taking advantages from this succeed and its experience in home market, the corporation planned to keep increasing the number of over 400 drive-thru stores to compete with other rivals in global market (Vignali, 2001). For example, McDonalds in the UK has opened its stores in diversified places but still focused on high traffic locations such as in shopping malls, near entertainment areas or at airports and train stations (McDonalds, 2014). It happened as the same as in India McDonalds where has more than 200 restaurants in the final quarter of 2010. McDonalds established also nearly 2000 outlets in China and approximately 1000 restaurants in France (Keegan and Green, 2013). Price: The price for a McDonalds’ burger, in particular the Big Mac, was created based on the average wages of customers in the market. The higher minimum wages is, the higher price of a Big Mac will be charged (The Economist, 2014). The Figure 1 will present the differences of prices of Big Mac that McDonalds charges in some popular markets. The income rank of India has been considered as a lower in the middle class with the minimum wage from USD 5 to USD 6 per day (Office of Labour Department, 2014). Hence, the price of USD 1.54 for a Big Mac of McDonalds is much cheaper compared to the price in the UK market with the price for a Big Mac burger is charged USD 4.63, approximately equal price in the US home market. Promotion: Firstly, understanding the habits of watching commercial on television in China, McDonalds in China plans to attract its customers through print media (Vignali, 2008). In addition, ‘Green’ promotion has been executed in India with the claim of no beef products delivered (Keegan and Green, 2013). Secondly, sponsorship activities have been implemented in a number of sports. For example, in the USA, McDonalds maintains close relationship with the most favourite basketball league NBA to attract the awareness of its audience on McDonalds’ brand (Vignali, 2008). Brand name of the McDonalds was also changed in order to be suitable to the market. For example, in Australia, Macca’s was known as McDonalds in there (The Telegraph, 2013). Thirdly, sales promotion has been also delivered to McDonalds’ customers. For example, â€Å"Another burger each weekend† promotion was conducted in Czech market which provided different tastes of burgers (Keegan and Gre en, 2013, pp. 55) Question 2: For a giant service-orientated corporation as McDonalds, there will exist a number of arisen problems related to environmental aspects that influence the internationalisation of its brand. This paper will analyse these impacts by using the PEST framework which will be briefly presented in Figure 2. Factors Opportunities Threats Political Conflicts between national government and Beijing’s government in terms of McDonalds promotion plan Legislators and critics discouragements in terms of McDonalds’ impacts on French food culture Economic China is one of the rapidest-developing market Currency instability Social Indian customers are interested in McDonalds Indian prevents using beefs products French complains about World Cup sponsorship of McDonalds Technological Designing outlets by using more glass window and air cooling systems in India Applying electronic devices to provide better services Creating Order Application Political factor: In order to conduct a huge investment on promotion strategy in China, McDonalds has spent more than USD 1 billion on building a big shopping mall in the middle of Beijing where is considered as a crowded area. However, though having agreements from Beijing government, this project of McDonalds was still postponed by the nation government of China (Keegan and Green, 2013). In France, concerning the negative impacts of McDonalds into traditional lifestyle of French people, there was a lot of legislators and critics has been in disagreements with continuing to allow McDonalds’ outlets to be established more (Keegan and Green, 2013). Economic factor: Due to the hundred time of development in terms of meal industry in India, McDonalds has considered this statistic as one of potential changes to expand its business in this market. Hence, the company opened a number of outlets mainly in areas where have high customer traffic (McDonalds, 2014). Since McDonalds has realized the potential of fast food industry in China, it has planned to enter this market and achieved considerable outcomes in terms of profits and customer attentions. Hence, China was considered by McDonalds as the rapidest-developing market that stimulates the company to keep expanding in there (Keegan and Green, 2013). However, currency instability was also recognized as one of serious threats for McDonalds in terms of economical factor. Due to its main proportion of profits generated from external American market, there may cause a significant threats to McDonalds’ profit if exchange rates are not constant. For example, in 2012, nearly 0.5 percent of company’s revenue has been decreased because of this issue of exchange rates (Gasparro, 2012). Social factor: The customer expectation for the fast food industry was increased strongly in India when McDonalds entered this market in 1996. After a number of being presented here, the amount of money for purchasing fast food products has been increased strongly and will be expected to be increased up to 1.5 time in 2016 compared to the statistic in 2013 (Nayak, 2013). However, there still has a number of considerations towards this factors. For example, most Indian people follow the Hinduism which indicated that beefs and products from beefs will not able to be used in there. Therefore, McDonalds has had to design a different menu for its customers in this market (Hickman, 2013). In addition, the presence of its brand in World Cup 1998 in France was received a lot of criticisms in terms of health issues from French people. Technological factor: Understanding the fast innovation of technology that affects considerably towards business strategy, McDonalds has spent much efforts on planning to apply high-technological devices in delivering its services (Patton, 2013). In order to make its customer comfortable and be relax when using McDonalds’ services, iPod and television were provided to customers to use. In addition, in India, glass window and air cooling systems have been used to help McDonalds’ outlets in this market satisfy Indian customers (Keegan and Green, 2013). Question 3: Assuming that McDonalds has decided to expand its business into Vietnam fast food market, the following step is very essential for the corporation to start planning a strategy to deliver its products in this market. This part will use the international market entry strategy which will be outlined in Figure 3 to provide recommendations for McDonalds. Indirect exporting: This decision of market entry was considered as the safest way for the McDonalds. When this type of strategy is chosen, the company will not participate to export its product oversea and it also not participate in marketing strategy in the target market (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). For example, McDonalds may trade its products with a local company and allow to sell these products into Vietnam market. Hence, this local company will take responsibility for the sales of these products. However, with the weak connections between McDonalds and its products, the company may be unsuccessful to attract the huge awareness from target customers (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). Direct exporting: In contrast with the indirect exporting decision, with the direct exporting strategy, McDonalds will straight participate to export its products to a Vietnamese company to sell it in this market. The advantage of this action is that the company can ensure its marketing strategy in the targeted market (Lymbersky, 2008). Hence, though McDonalds has to spend a lot of efforts on justifying the market before making decision, it will have more power on managing its sales and marketing activities in the foreign market (Lymbersky, 2008). Direct investment: The popular activity related to this direct investment strategy is to collaborate with a local company in the target market, particularly Vietnam market, in order to create a joint venture form. The advantage of this activity is that McDonalds is not the only one who has to suffer risks from entering new markets, especially in terms of profits. It also has a chance to acquire more information of the market from its partner. However, managerial issues can be arisen when working with the local company due to the dissimilarity between two cultures (Keegan and Green, 2013). Indirect investment: Related to this type of strategy, licensing and franchising are considered as two popular methods which are used to plan to enter a new market (Keegan and Green, 2013). Licensing. Similar to direct investment decision, licensing will be used for the long-term purpose which provides less risks to the company, in this case is McDonalds. The local company in the targeted market will be empowered to use the reputation of McDonalds to distribute products in its market (Lymbersky, 2008). Because of using image of popular products, it will create an opportunity for the local distributor to attract a huge number of customers for these products that related to increase sales revenue (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). Hence, McDonalds in this case may take profit benefits from this method. However, it is also considered as a risk for McDonalds due to the lack of power on controlling the delivered marketing strategy of the distributors into the market (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). Franchising. Franchising plays as one of recommendations for investing indirectly to enter the new market. This method is the agreement between the franchiser, in this case is McDonalds, and the franchisee who will be empowered by McDonalds to sell its products in the targeted market (Jobber and Fahy, 2009). Though it seems to be similar to licensing, there is a difference that the franchise will run its business as the same as the business in the host country (Keegan and Green, 2013). For example, there will be an outlet of McDonalds in Vietnam which has the same design of outlets and deliver the same services with McDonalds in the US. This type of market entry strategy has been also used by McDonalds in overall markets that it entered (McDonalds, 2014). The main advantage of this decision is that McDonalds, who plays as the franchiser role, can apply its global marketing strategy to its outlet in Vietnam. Moreover, it is easy for McDonalds for controlling the quality of delivered p roducts, the quality of recruited staffs in the Vietnamese outlet to ensure the similarity between its outlets in home market and in Vietnam. Hence, it could be seen that Vietnamese customers can have a chance to experience the products and services as the same as it is delivered in the U.S (Lymbersky, 2008). Taking advantages from the success in terms of franchising strategy in the world market and the popularity of its reputation, it could be recommended that franchising should be adapted in the Vietnamese market. Question 4: Based on the global expansion strategy of McDonalds, ‘Plan to Win’ was designed in order to create a standard marketing plan which will be adapted in any market in general (McDonalds, 2014). However, for a particular market as Vietnam fast food market, there still has to concern in a number of factors initiatively that influence the strategy of marketing to create competitive advantage. Porter’s five forces model (Porter, 2008) will be used to explain in detail. Threat of New Entrants. With the positive GDP growth of the economy started from 2004, Vietnam was reported as one of the fastest and the most stable economy in Asia. In addition, in 2007, Vietnam has been conceded as one of official members of WTO and the government of this country has renovated its laws and regulations which provided open opportunities for multinational companies like McDonalds to enter Vietnamese market. (KPMG, 2012). Threat of Power of Suppliers. Though there is a lot of potential local suppliers for food ingredients and equipment for fast food services, only few current foreign brands in Vietnam accepted to participate with them due to disagreements (Vietnamnet Bridge, 2014). Hence, there has a chance for McDonalds to find its suppliers in the local market to reduce the cost from importing oversea if the company find solutions for this issue. Threat of Power of Buyers. Due to the increase of young population and the high proportion of middle income customers in Vietnam, the demand for reputable brands, particularly in fast food restaurants, has been raise rapidly (Azzaro, 2012). Hence, it partly reduces pressures for McDonalds entering the new Vietnam fast food market. Threat of Substitute Products. In case of charging the price of McDonalds’ products as similar as them in some Asian market, McDonalds may have to suffer the loss of customers to substitute products. For example, steam sticky rice, pho or noodles are popular traditional fast food in Vietnam which can be considered as substitute products for burgers of McDonalds (Vietnamnet Bridge, 2014). Threat of Competitors. McDonalds could be considered as a late fast food giant in Vietnamese fast food market because there was a number of giants, for example, KFC, Lotteria, Starbucks, Subway or Burger King have earlier entered the market than McDonalds (Vu, 2014). Understanding these five forces can help McDonalds to create its own competitive advantage over its current rivals in Vietnam fast food industry. Presented as a late competitor in this market, in order to compete with its competitors, it could be recommended that spending significant efforts on executing its marketing plan is very important though â€Å"Plan to Win† global strategies has been provided with clear marketing mix. As the same as obtaining qualitative and quantitative results by creating an effective marketing plan, there are three marketing executing tools which are popular to be applied to implement its plans (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Customer Relationship Management. Though researching on customer’s needs before entering the market is necessary, maintaining the relationship between McDonalds and its customers is also important. (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Hence, McDonalds should collect information or feedbacks of customers who used its products and classify this data to enhance the better services to the customers. Since potential customers are satisfied, it is less challenge for the company to create marketing plans to maintain the relationship with its customers in long term (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Internal Marketing. Customers are not only known as people who use products or services but also known as the human resources who directly participate in delivering products and services of a company. This is considered as internal customers (Saxena, 2009). Therefore, the company should assign clear job tasks and suitable reward systems for employees that fulfil their expectations to help them commit to contribute to the success of the company (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Total Quality Management. Due to the low-priced products strategy, McDonalds has to spend a considerable effort to effectively control the quality of its products and services. It is not only related to ensure the customer relationship maintenance but also its suppliers’ relationships in order to increase its market shares and reduce the costs of production (McDonalds, 2014). Therefore, the company can satisfy its customers by delivering cheaper products but still ensuring its high quality. Conclusion: This paper has attempted to analyse McDonalds’ expansion strategy and provided justification and executing plain for entering Vietnam fast food market. With the positive researched information of fast food market in Vietnam, it could be believed that McDonalds will be successful to attract the customers and compete other rivals to become market leader in there. However, adjustments for this marketing plan will be required due to the change of environmental factors in the market.

Sustainability and Environmental Standards

Sustainability and Environmental Standards: Seeking Competitive Distinction at Damai Lovina Villas . Executive Summary Throughout this analysis, my purpose is to clarify and condense the information so the reader will have a better understanding at the end of the analysis. This analysis will be broken up into six categories; the executive summary, issue statement, alternatives analysis, recommendations, actions and implementations, and data analysis. In the issue statement, there will be a brief overview on how the hotel companies and the environmental regulations clashed.Throughout the alternative analysis we will discuss different alternatives that Damai could have focused on to benefit and sustain his hotels. As we move to the recommendations our group will give clear advice on how we would’ve handled the situation. Actions and implementations will implement the steps that Damai took to clean up his name and benefit the locals that were on the island. The data analysis will be a break up of data to better explain the situation at hand. Issue Statement:One of the major issues impacting the Hotels was that the environmental regulations were lacking since existing standards were not enforced and growth often was promoted to the detriment of the environment. For years the Balinese government had promoted sand dredging to enlarge the island for more hotel development off the port of Benoa. By the continued dredging of the sand, this would in effect alter the water currents and the new currents have eroded the natural beaches bordering the town Sanur.Dredging projects rarely involved environmental impact studies or guaranteed protection of natural areas as required by law. Tourism was the island only source of income, but this source of income was causing serious social and environmental problems. For example the drinking water often slowed to a trickle during daylight hours due almost exclusively to the high demand for water in the resort area of Nusa Dua. Also the lack of a centralized waste collection system has encouraged alternative solution such as the formation of an informal collection system.Many hotels and residents left used paper and plastic outside of their properties. Despite these challenges the system successfully diverted a significant amount of waste from the landfill. Data analysis: As the benefits of advertising proactive environmental efforts were recognized by global hospitality hotels targeted environmentally conscious customers to gain competitive advantage as a result of which helped non luxury hotels command premium prices of $30/night in a very competitive industry. Marketing sustainability shows that participation in a VEP could be costly depending on the program.Adopting a formal EMS and certifying it IDO 141001 may typically cost $270-$1370 per employee depending on the extent to which the company had instituted proactive environmental and continual improvement procedures prior to implementing a formalize d Ems. Although more than a dozen VEPs and eco-labeling programs targeted the hotel industry by 2006 only handful of these were available to Indonesia hotel. Alternatives analysis: Damai has several alternatives to ultimately benefit and sustain its hotel.Damai could of considered voluntary environmental programs and take the risk of the hotels luxury to take a negative impact by lacking integration that can possibly have a major impact in the long run. Another alternative damai could of pursued was a better marketing strategy that fully described everything about the hotel in regards to its environment, community status overall. This could have been achieved through a brief slideshow that offered key components of information on the website or brochure developed by Damai.Damai should focus less on advertising its produces of food and more on the sustainability efforts. A better description and more detailed amount of information given about the hotels sustainability efforts along w ith other factors will ultimately create more attraction for business. Recommendations: So at to expand capacity by constructing additional rooms, Damai should ensure that existing room were filled and that the restaurant operated above its current 65% occupancy. This will bring improvement in the business as Knape hoped to better integrate Damai into the local network of eco-hotels and eco-tours.Damai should continue to rely on its website and local travels agents to promote the hotel’s sustainability vision because Damai’s website was the primary vehicle for marketing hotel’s various sustainability efforts which directed environmentally conscious customers to an organic resort link to learn about the hotel’s sustainability vision. Besides, these local travel agents will play an important role by promoting the hotel’s sustainability vision to customers, which will benefit the industry. . Action And Implementation:Through a partnership with IPSA, D amai helped the farming and fishing communities remediate the effects of management techniques that could be harmful to the environment and public health. The burning of agriculture impaired air quality and human health, which comes from the hundreds of small farms that operate in a single community. The hotel work towards teaching farmers composting methods and organic growing practices, using IPSA products to increase the pace of decomposition. Damai utilized a water recycling system that directed used guest water to on site tanks.All wastewater was filtered through a series to tanks containing volcanic rock, porous rubber, and sand and then reused in the hotel gardens. Even waste from the toilets, was then collected and treated using natural enzymes to break down the organic waste. This waste was then passed through a series of filters and re used in the hotel gardens. One of the hotel big implementations came when it decided that they should join forces with local farmers to rec laim eroded topsoil. Damai built a series of large rock wall filters in the river that ran through the property creating a series of waterfalls.At the bottom of each waterfall was a large pool of water that captured much of the topsoil from the hotel pools to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Question: 1. The relationship between tourism and social/environmental issues in Bali was every thing that was resulted from tourism had impacts on society and environment of Bali. Although tourism plays an important role in Bali’s economic growth and financing, it also caused serious social and environmental problems. Bali’s hotel alone required 260 liters of water per second, which was an amount equivalent to the typical water consumption of 50,000 villagers when drinking water in Denpasar often slowed to a trickle during daylight hours due almost exclusively to the high demand for water in the resort area of Nusa Dua to the south. Besides this Hotel and retail chains ha d avoided locating in Lovina Beach of Bali because it was less accessible than South Bali. 2. Bali’s environmental status was affected by different government polices like the government’s focus on energy development and resource extraction, close relationship with developers, and lack of budgetary caused many citizens to lose faith in its ability or intent to protect Bali’s environment.Environmental regulations in Bali was lacking since existing standard were not enforced and growth often was promoted to the detriment of the environment. The Balinese government had promoted sand grudging enlarging the island for more hotel development off the port of Benoa. Dredging projects rarely involved environmental impacts studies or guaranteed protection of natural areas as required by law and when they did was almost never monitored for accuracy. The island had one government-operated landfill that was located outside Denpasar on reclaimed tidal land.Like many landfills in emerging economies, it lacked controls to guard against groundwater contamination. 3. Firms did not need to wait for government in order to take action in addressing Bali’s social and environmental issues. Many Balinese began to get discouraged of how the government handled the environmental and social issues that occurred. Instead Balinese citizens took matters into their own hands and decided to rely more on communal code guided by strong social norms to influence behaviors 4. Damai’s focus was to sustain and distinguish their hotels.Since damai did not participate in the idea of voluntary environmental programs they were able to avoid the luxury status of the hotel to downgrade. It complemented the sustainability program because the hotels reputation remained the same by relying on other factors such as the website and travel agents that have the potential to create a positive impact. 5. There are numerous sustainability activities Damai had already implemented. Which activities can be described as pollution prevention, product stewardship, clean technology/innovation, and sustainability vision?Pollution prevention: Damai has made an impact on the local surrounding when it comes to preventing pollution, for example normally at the end of each growing season, traditional farming practices involving the burning of agriculture waste to generate ash for the fertilizing of the next year crops. But hundreds of farmers in the community lack the knowledge on how the burning of agriculture impaired the air quality and the human health. The continued of burning of agriculture drive a greatly needed source of income which is tourist away from the community due to poor air quality.Damai solution for this is through partnership with local farmers to educate them about different ways of making fertilizer, which is through the different composing methods and organic growing practices using products from IPSA, which would increase the pace of decompositio n. Product stewardship: Damai shift from paying a deposer contractor to lovina Beach, to pick up the hotel’s solid waste, which transports the waste back to a dispensary, had proven costly. So Damai develop an environmental efficient way by transporting plastic and bottle containers to their respective suppliers to be recycled and reuse.To save cost of the purchasing of the purchasing of water, the Damai hotel use waste from the toilets, which are collected and treated using natural enzymes to break down the organic waste. This waste then passed through a series of filters, which is then re-used in the hotel’s gardens. By doing this implementation of treating waste from the hotel, Damie water conservation efforts reduced hotel water use by 75%. Clean technology/innovation: Hotel works closely with local famers and village leaders to develop the best possible way to reclaim the community eroded topsoil.The eroded topsoil came about because of traditional irrigation wate r systems, and monsoon rains, which caused fertile topsoil to flow from the rice paddies and drain into the ocean. The problem of the loss of topsoil loss prompted more farmers to rely on chemical fertilizers to grow their crops. Damai address this issue by building a series of large rock wall filters in the river that ran through the property creating a series of waterfalls. At the bottom of each waterfall was a large pool of water that captured much of the topsoil lost from the seven villages surrounding the hotel.This showed the hotels continued efforts to better the community through is efforts, Damai went on to encouraged the local farms to reclaim their topsoil from the hotel pools to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Sustainability Vision? The hotel had chosen to refrain from promoting its sustainability focus in guest rooms, restaurant and gardens. Damai also decided not to involve guest in an optional linen reuse program in order to maintain its luxury status, even though such programs had become popular in the US and European hospitality industry. . How does Damai’s current sustainability focus compare to the environmental performance criteria listed in the VEPs listed in case Exhibits C-H? Damai did not participate in any VEPs. However, the hotel was considering if it would be beneficial for the hotel to participate in the VEPs. Damai was not able to expand its capacity by constructing additional rooms; the most important way to improve the hotel was to ensure that existing rooms were filled and that the restaurant operated above its current 65% occupancy.By doing this, Damai had integrated itself into local network of eco hotels and eco tours. Damai has different sectors in which its market itself whether marketing through its website which directed environmentally conscious customers to an â€Å"organic Resort† link which help customers learn about the hotel’s sustainability vision. Damai provided travel agents with in formation about the hotel, some the travel agents began to market the hotel as being environmentally conscious by advertising that Damai produces 80% of its food local gardens. 7.Best Green Hotels and others have no financial charge listed. A 10% expense on lodging charge has to be paid by the owner that lists on the Eco Lodge even though the website is free of charge to utilize. The number of rooms and workers determine the fees for Global Green 21. Hotels with less than or equal to five workers or less than ten rooms pay $395, whereas hotels with less than or equal to 50 works or 70 or less rooms pay $1610. An independent external auditor must also be appointed along with the cost of becoming ISO 14001 certified. . I recommend that Damai join the Eco Lodge Program. The program offers ways to tutor guests and staff of environmental protection by recycling trash and water. Partaking in this program allows Damai to network with members who are not wasteful and proved to contribute to environmental protection. It also gives his future customers a way to view Damai on the Internet, which has over 600 travel agencies. Although there is a 10% commission it doesn’t compare to the benefits Damai will receive from being on the site.

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 17

Not for the dragon. She jumped for the tree. It was a good, tall loblolly pine, whose drooping lower branches didn't look as if they could support a kitten. But Keller didn't need support. As she leaped, she changed, pushing it as fast as she could. She reached the tree with four paws full of lethal claws extended. And she ran straight up the vertical surface. Her claws sank into the clean, cinnamon trunk, and she shot up like a rocket. When she got high enough to be obscured by the dull-green needles on the droopy branches, she launched herself into the air again. It was a desperate move, betting everything on one blind spring. But it was all she could think of. She could never take the dragon in a fair fight. She was betting on her claws. In the wild, a panther could shear the head off a deer with a single swipe. Keller was going for the horns. She came down right on target. The dragon made the mistake of looking up at her, maybe thinking that she was trying to get behind it, to land on its back again and kill it. Or maybe thinking that she might see the pale face of an innocent girl and hesitate. Whatever it thought, it was a mistake. Keller was already slashing as she landed. A single deadly swipe with all her power behind it. Her claws peeled the forehead off the creature in a spray of blood and flesh. The screaming roar almost burst her eardrums. It was the sound she'd heard before in the mall, a sound so deep in pitch that she felt it as much as heard it. It shook her bones, and it reverberated in every tree and in the red clay of the ground. And that was another mistake, although Keller didn't know it at once. At the same instant as she heard the roar, she felt the pain. The dark power crackled through her like a whiplash and tore her own involuntary scream from her. It was worse than the first time she'd felt it, ten times worse, maybe more. The dragon was much stronger. And it followed her. Like a real whip, it flashed across the clearing after her. It hit her again as she hit the ground, and Keller screamed again. It hurt. She tried to scrabble away, but the pain made her weak, and she fell over on her side. And then the black energy hit her right shoulder-exactly where it had hit the first time in the mall. Keller saw white light. And then she was falling in darkness. Her last thought was, I didn't get it. I couldn't have. It still has power. Diana, I'm sorry†¦ She stopped feeling anything. She opened her eyes slowly. Hurts†¦ She was looking up at the dragon. It had dropped Iliana; Keller couldn't see where. And it was staring down at her in malevolent fury, obviously waiting for her to wake up so she could feel it when it killed her. When he killed her. He'd taken on the shape he'd been wearing in the beginning. A young man with clean, handsome features and a nicely muscled if compact body. Black hair that shed rainbow colors under the moonlight and looked as fine and soft as her own fur. And those obsidian eyes. It was hard to look away from those eyes. They seemed to capture her gaze and suck her in. They were so much more like stones than eyes, silver-black, shiny stones that seemed to reflect all light out again. But when she managed to drag her gaze upward, she felt a thrill of hope. His forehead was a bleeding ruin. She had gotten him. Her slash had carved a nice hamburger-sized piece out of his scalp. Somewhere on the ground in the clearing were two little stubby horns. But only two; there were three left on his head. He must have turned at the last instant. Keller would have cursed if she had a human throat. â€Å"How're you feeling?† the dragon said, and leered at her form under the gory mess of his scalp. Keller tried to snarl at him and realized that she did have a human throat. She must have collapsed back into her half-and-half form, and she was too weak to change back again. â€Å"Having trouble?† the dragon asked. Keller croaked, â€Å"You should never have come back.† â€Å"Wrong,† the dragon said. â€Å"I like the modern world.† â€Å"You should have stayed asleep. Who woke you up?† She was buying time, of course, to try and regain some strength. But she also truly wanted to know. The dragon laughed. â€Å"Someone,† he said. â€Å"Someone you'll never know. A witch who isn't a witch. We made our own alliance.† Keller didn't understand, and her brain was too fuzzy to deal with it. But just at that moment, she noticed something else. Movement behind the dragon. The figures that had been lying on the ground were stirring. And they were doing it stealthily, in ways that showed they were awake and with their wits about them. They were alive. She could see Galen's head lift, with moonlight shining on his hair as he looked at her. She could see Winnie turn toward Iliana and begin to crawl. She could see Nissa's shoulders hump and then fall back. Later, when they were asked, they would all say the same thing had brought them to awareness: a deep rumbling sound that vibrated in their bones. The dragon's roar. Or, at least, three of them would say that. Galen would always say that all he heard was Keller's scream and his eyes came open. The surge of hope she felt made Keller's heart beat hard and wiped away the pain-for the moment, at least. But she was terrified of giving the dragon some clue. She didn't dare look at Galen any longer. She stared at the dragon's black stone eyes and thought with all her strength, Get away. Get away, take the Jeep, take Diana. He may not be able to follow you. Run. â€Å"Your time's over,† she told the dragon out loud. â€Å"The shapeshifters don't want you anymore. Everything has changed.† â€Å"And it's changing again,† the dragon said. â€Å"The end of the world is coming, and the beginning of a new one. It's time for everything that's sleeping to wake back up again.† Keller had a horrified vision of hundreds of dragons being dug up and brought back to life. But there was something going on in the clearing that was even more horrifying to her. Galen wasn't getting away. He was slithering on his stomach toward her. And Winnie, the idiot, was beside Diana nowbut she wasn't dragging her to the Jeep. She seemed to be whispering to her. Keller felt a hot wave of utter desperation. What can I do? If the dragon sees them, they're all dead. There's nothing any of them can do against him. Galen's not a warrior-he can't change. Nissa looks too hurt to move. Winnie's orange fire won't even singe the dragon. And Diana will get swatted like a butterfly. They can't do anything. I have to. She was so tired and hurt, and her claws were much less lethal than in her full panther form. But she had to do it, and she had to do it now. â€Å"Go back where you came from!† she shouted. She bunched her muscles and jumped. Right for him. Straight on. That was what took him by surprise, the sheer insanity of the attack. He threw the black energy at her, but he couldn't stop her leap. Her claws ripped into his forehead again, and then she fell back. The dragon's scream split the heavens. Dizzy with pain and shock, Keller stared at him, hoping desperately†¦ But she'd taken only one horn off. He still had two. He thrashed around in wounded fury, then threw the dark power at her again. Keller shuddered and lost her balance. She crashed to the ground and lay there, limp. â€Å"Keller!† The scream was full of such raw anguish that it hurt Keller's throat to hear it. It made her heart throb hard and then fall in sick dismay. Galen, no, she thought. Don't bother with me. You have to get Iliana away. â€Å"Keller!† he screamed again, and then he was beside her, holding her. â€Å"No . ? .† she whispered. She couldn't say more than that. She looked at him pleadingly with the eyes of a dumb beast. If he died, too, it would make her own death meaningless. The dragon was still screaming, both hands to his forehead. He seemed to be too angry to attack. â€Å"Keller, hang on. Please, you have to hang on.† Galen was dripping tears on her face. â€Å"Run†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered. Instead, he did the most gallant thing she had ever seen. He was already holding her, his shaky hand stroking the hair off her face, brushing one of her tufted ears. Now, suddenly, he gripped her hard, and his expression changed. His jaw tightened, and a white line showed around his mouth. And his eyes†¦ seemed to darken and glow red. Too late, Keller realized. He was taking her impression. Learning her shape. No. You were meant to be something gentle. Galen stood up. And changed. But something was a little off. Maybe it was the fact that he had to hurry when he took the impression, or some extra twist from his own genes. Because, instead of becoming a soot-black panther, he became a gleaming golden leopard. The same animal. Different colors. This leopard was the dark rich gold of Galen's hair, and its eyes were the incredible green of his eyes. He was marked with perfect black rosettes, each with an even darker gold center. His body was sleek and supple and almost seven feet long with the tail. He was a big leopard, at least a hundred and sixty pounds. And before Keller had time to think, he was in motion. A good spring. Untutored but full of the real killer instinct. The coughing yell he let out as he jumped was the kind a cat makes when its fury is too great to hold in. The dragon whirled to face him. But it was too late. Once again, the crackling dark power hit but couldn't stop the rush. The dragon's human body couldn't fend off a hundred and sixty pounds of solid feline muscle. Keller saw Galen swipe. The dragon bellowed, clapping a hand to his head. And Keller wanted to cheer. She couldn't. She didn't have the strength left. But her heart was singing inside her with sheer pride. You did it. Oh, Galen, my prince, you did it. She saw his body falling, struck by the black energy. She saw it hit the ground and lie still. And she was sorry that they were both going to die. But with the dragon dead, too, and Iliana alive, there would still be hope. There would be people to carry on. Then she looked at the dragon, and time stopped, and her heart turned to ice. He still had a horn left. The one right in the middle. They hadn't done it after all. He still had power. He was going to kill them now, and Iliana, too. And neither she nor Galen could do anything to stop him. The noises the dragon was making were beyond description. He seemed to be out of his mind in pain and fury. And then Keller realized that it was more than that. He was screaming in sheer blood-lust-and he was changing. So strange-she hadn't even thought about the dragon changing before. But she could take on most animals. She knew to go for the juncture between head and neck for rhinos, the belly for a lion. But this†¦ what it was shifting into†¦ No. I don't believe it, Keller thought. It looked more like a moth being born than a shapeshifter changing. It split its human skin like a chrysalis. More of the yellowish liquid she had seen on Jaime's cheek oozed from the splits. And what was revealed underneath was hard and greenish-yellow, flat, smooth. Scaly. The smell was the smell from the basement Sickly-sweet, pungent, an odor to make your stomach lurch. Powerful back legs bunched, and the figure grew and stood against the moonlit sky. It was huge. In her mind, Keller saw a scene from the past. Iliana, her violet eyes huge, saying, â€Å"He can turn into a dragon?† And Keller's scornful answer, â€Å"No, of course not. Don't be silly.† Wrong, Keller thought. It actually looked more like velociraptor than a dragon. Too big-it was more than fifteen feet long, counting the powerful tail. But it had the same look of alien intelligence, the same reptilian snout, the same saberlike hind claws. It's not a mindless animal, Keller thought. It's smart. It even has things like hands on its forelegs; It's where evolution took a different turn. And it had power. Maybe more power this way than in its human form. Keller could feel its mind even at this distance, the terrible ancient core of hatred and malice, the endless thirst for blood. It opened its mouth, and for an instant Keller expected to see fire. But what came out was a roar that showed huge spiky teeth-and a flood of black energy. The dark power crackled around it like an aura of lightning. Nothing-no shapeshifter, no witch, no vampire-could stand against this creature. Keller knew that absolutely. That was when she saw Iliana getting up. Stay down, you idiot! Keller thought. Iliana stood straight. There's no point, don't attract its attention†¦ â€Å"Azhdeha!† Iliana shouted. And the monster turned. There they were, the maiden and the dragon, face to face. Iliana looked twice as small as ever before in contrast to this giant. Her silver-gold hair was blowing loose in the wind, and her dress shimmered around her. She was so delicate, so graceful-and so fragile, standing there like a lily swaying on its stalk. I can't watch, Keller thought. I can't see this. Please†¦ â€Å"Azhdeha!† Iliana said, and her voice was sweet but ringing and stern. â€Å"Hashteher! Tiamat!† It's a spell, Keller thought. Winnie taught her a spell? When they were lying there, whispering together? But what kind of spell would Winnie know against dragons? â€Å"Poisonous Serpent! Cold-blooded Biter! Rasta-ban! Anguis!† No, they're names, Keller realized slowly. Its names. Dragon names. Old names. â€Å"I am a witch and the daughter of a witch. Mine was the hand that took your power; mine was the hand that buried you in silence. Hecate was the most ancient of my mothers. Hecate's hand is my hand now.† Winnie couldn't have taught her that. Nobody could have taught her that. No witch alive today. Keller could see Winnie's pale face watching in surprise from beyond Iliana, her eyes and mouth dark O's. â€Å"Mine is the hand that sends you back!† Diana's palms were cupped now, and orange fire crackled between them. Keller's heart plummeted. Golden-orange fire. Witch fire. It was impressive, from a girl who'd never been trained, but it wasn't nearly enough. It was about as dangerous to the dragon as a firefly. She heard Winnie's voice in the silence, small and frightened but determined. â€Å"Aim for the horn!† The dragon threw back its head and laughed. That was what it looked like, anyway. What came out was a roar like all the other roars and a belch of black energy that fountained skyward. But in her head, Keller heard maniacal laughter. Then it swung its head back down and pointed the horn straight at Iliana. Die! it said. The word wasn't spoken but sent on a cold wave of pure energy. â€Å"Mine is the power of the ages† Iliana shouted back. â€Å"Mine is the power-â€Å" The golden flare in her palms was changing, blazing white, blinding hot†¦ â€Å"-OF THE END OF THE WORLD!† Something like a supernova was born between her hands. The tight shot up and out, exploding. It was impossible to look at. And it was no longer white but dazzling, lightning-brilliant blue. The blue fire. The Wild Power had awakened. I knew it, Keller thought I knew it all along. Keller couldn't see what happened to the dragon; the light was simply too bright. While it flared around her, she was bathed in radiance that seemed to shine through her, humming inside her and lighting up her bones. She tried to lift her own hand and saw nothing but a vague rainbow shape. But she heard the dragon's scream. Not low like the roar but high and squealing, a sound like icicles driving into her ears. It went up and up, higher in pitch until even Keller couldn't track it. And then there was a thin sound like distant glass shattering, and then there was no sound at all. There were shooting stars in the blue-white light. For the second time that evening, Keller fainted. â€Å"Boss! Please, Boss, hurry. Wake up!† Keller blinked open her eyes. Galen was holding her. He was human. So was she. And Winnie and Nissa were trying to drag both of them somewhere. Keller gazed up into those gold-green eyes. The exact color of a leopard's, she thought. Only leopards don't cry, and his were brimming with tears. She lifted a languorous hand and stroked his cheek. He cupped his own hand over it. Keller couldn't think. There were no words in her mind. But she was glad to be here with him, for this last moment in the moonlight. It had all been worth it â€Å"Boss, please!† Winnie was almost crying, too. â€Å"Let me die in peace,† Keller said, although she didn't realize she was saying it aloud until she heard the words. Then she added, â€Å"Don't you cry, Winfrith. You did a good job.† â€Å"Boss, you're not dying! The blue fire did something-it healed us. We're all okay. But it's almost midnight!† Keller bunked. She blinked again. Her body didn't hurt anymore. She'd assumed it was the blessed numbness that comes just before death. But now she realized that it wasn't. Her blood was running in her veins; her muscles felt firm and strong. She didn't even have a headache. She stared beyond Winnie to the girl in white. Diana was still slight and childlike, almost fairy-like of figure. But something had changed about her. At first, Keller thought she looked as distant and beautiful as a star, but then she smiled and wasn't distant at all. She was simply more beautiful than the dreams of mortals. And really shining with her own light. It pooled around her in soft, silvery radiance. Keller had never seen a Wild Power do that before, not on any of the tapes. But she's not just a Wild Power, the voice in her head whispered. She's the Witch Child. And Goddess alone knows all that she's meant to do. For a moment, Keller felt so awed that it was almost like unhappiness. But then Winnie's message finally sank in. She snapped her head up. â€Å"Midnight?† â€Å"Yes!† Winnie said frantically. Keller bolted upright. â€Å"Nissa?† â€Å"Right here, Boss.† Keller felt a flood of relief. Nissa was the one who had seemed closest to death on the ground there. But now she was standing on her own two feet, looking cool and imperturbable, even though her shirt was bloody and in rags. â€Å"Nissa, can you drive that Jeep? Can you figure out how to get to Charlotte?† â€Å"I think so. Boss.† Keller had never been so grateful to hear that calm voice in her life. She jumped up. â€Å"Then let's go!†

Project Plan For A Project Management Plan - 2266 Words

Introduction This paper is aimed at developing an elaborated project plan for the project that we have been discussing in the past weeks. The key idea of this comprehensive project plan is to prepare a detailed formal document which charts out a plan for end to end execution of the project. If a project is not supported by an adequate project management plan then it will a big risk of losing out on track and may not achieve its objectives. Hence, it is essential for every manager to bring out a project management plan before moving onto the project execution phase. The key elements of this plan are primary and secondary objectives, planning elaborations, important decisions and assumptions and so on. Using this document, managers can create communication mechanisms, project baselines and detailed strategies to achieve the project objectives (Harris, 2011). Narrowing down the focus, I have documented a detailed plan of transformation for the motorcycles maker into manufacturer of a touring class m otorcycles. Meanwhile, the company will continue to produce the existing product range to hold onto its present consumer base. This will save the company against any financial risk in case of any failure. Project Scope As defined earlier, this project is to develop larger, touring motor cycles used for long distance, rough riding. These bikes will have powerful and robust engines to support the positioning of a powerful bike. 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