Automobile firm FORD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Automobile firm FORD - Essay Example The rise in taxes in recent years has meant that petrol cars pay more VED. Companies have to take into account other laws such as new car warranties and the laws under the EU treaty such as those regarding location and block exemption. The market is oligopolistic. Ford has a high market share in 3 categories of cars. However, international competition, especially from BRIC countries, is a threat. The Ford brand has lost its appeal to the masses and is now termed as an old brand. In the market, there are high barriers to entry from financial constraints and regulatory requirements. There is threat of substitutes from environment-friendly cars. Backward integration diminishes the power of suppliers. Customers have high bargaining power in this durable goods industry. The future strategies of Ford Motors should be focused on slashing prices, improving brand image and technological innovation. The automobile industry is perhaps an industry that has suffered the most in the current global economic crisis situation. Burdened by the lack of consumer credit and cutbacks in household expenditures, this durable goods industry has had to endure setback in sales growth. Furthermore, the credit crunch has meant that the companies have found hard to draw capital from the pockets of investors. Oil price hikes and increase in credit costs pulled up the costs of manufacturing and put the giant manufacturers in the same league as small manufacturers with regard to problems faced. Companies like Chrysler have had to cut back on production in order to trim their inventories and reduce cost. Revill (2008) reports that Ford will reduce production at its Southampton factory in southern England in 2011 to 35,000 units, less than half of the 75,000 the factory built in 2007. Despite this, the automotive industry has done quite well. According to Auto Industry (2007), in 2006, 1.4 million cars and 208,000 commercial vehicles were produced in the UK. SMMT (2009) reports

The Phantom of the Opera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Phantom of the Opera - Essay Example The performers wore colorful and rich costumes. The style of costumes changed depending on the scenes. Some of them represented parts of other operas inside the musical. For example, the rehearsal of the opera Hannibal takes place in the Ancient Rome, and the costumes had a luxury Roman and Carthaginian style. In the opera Il Muto, the performers wore eighteenth-century clothing. The musical offers a great visual interest in the group scenes, specially in the number â€Å"Masquerade†, where the cast showed different costumes, like ballerinas, buffoons, clowns, mythological figures, and the â€Å"Red Mask† of the Phantom. The Phantom of the Opera does not have the traditional concert setting. The audience does not just listen quietly, like in a concert of classical music. The scenario is partly integrated with the rest of the theater. It is important to notice that The Phantom of the Opera is a musical about a theater, which takes place within a theater. In some moments, the public could feel that they belonged to the same fictional audience who witnessed all the events in the Paris Opera. For example, the fall of the chandelier, the appearance of the nobleman Raoul in a balcony, from where he sees Christine singing; the representation of Don Juan Triumphant, the opera written by the Phantom, or in the other opera Il Muto, when the diva Carlotta loses her voice.