...growing demand from new consumers in nontraditional markets. BRLH’s roots could be traced back to 1853 when Thomas Hardy, a 23-year-old English vineyard laborer, acquired land and planted it with vines. In 1857 he produced his first vintage, exporting two hogsheads to England, and by 1882 he had won his first international gold medal at Bordeaux. When Hardy died in 1912, his company was Australia’s largest winemaker, but also one of the most respected. After his death his sons took over the company and formed Australia’s first cooperative winery in 1916, naming it the Renmano Wine Cooperative. With the success and the development in the market Hardy felt they need to expand on its UK sales. This move led management to begin talking about the possibility of buying European wineries that could provide their newly acquired distributors with the critical mass and credibility to give Hardy’s wines greater access to Europe. Hardy’s board felt this was an ideal time to invest. Almost immediately, however, problems surfaced in all three of the European acquisitions and millions of dollars. Combined with a recession driven market slowdown at home, these problems plunged Hardy into losses. When one of Hardy’s banks called in a loan and the company was forced to look for a financial partner, BRL was there. BRL management decided to propose a merger. Following the merger, ex-BRL executives assumed the majority of top jobs in...
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...BRL Hardy: The Post Merger Success Perhaps the main drive for BRL Hardy’s post-merger success was the fact that the two merged companies were so distinct from each other. BRL was a company that sold fortified wines and took a bulk and volume approach, and thus had as one of its main assets its grape resources. Hardy’s on the other hand was a recognized, traditional award-winning brand wine that had marketing expertise and brand recognition. This essentially meant that Hardy had the know-how and innovation while BRL had the funds and resources to implement the ideas. Another reason for the success was the appointment of Steve Millar as CEO of the newly merged companies. Millar’s management placed an emphasis on turning BRL Hardy into a global powerhouse brand by emphasizing the need to decentralize risks and responsibilities while still maintaining the accountability of central management. Steve Millar also took a rational approach by focusing on the Pareto Principle, the law of the vital few (the “80-20” principle), in business. That is, he recognized that 80% of achievements roughly come from 20% of the amount of time and effort spent. He thus decided to focus his operations on getting 80% success with around 20 projects as opposed to 100% success with just one or two. The overall company strategy was also a big reason for the success that occurred post-merger. The company’s central leadership decided to emphasize the majority of their sales in the domestic (Australian) market...
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...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BRL Hardy, an Australian wine company, is facing challenging decisions. CEO Millar and his group marketing and export manager want to follow a global strategy with global brands—Carson, responsible for Europe, including the important U.K market, prefers a multinational approach (or rather a transnational solution). In the long run, I consider a solely global approach a risky venture in wine industry. It is not possible to compare it with other industries producing mass products—wine consumers’ habits are usually in contradiction to global brands. But a possibility for changing habits some way may exist, enabling a potential for global brands—especially for capturing young consumers over a limited period of time. Some companies already proofed that global wine brands work—even if their success was not that great in terms of market share or time period. Therefore, I would suggest a “transnational” solution—a combination of a decentralized and centralized organization: to sell global brands (constantly adapting them to consumer needs) as long as they succeed and, simultaneously, to serve different markets according to their local needs. Moreover, the wine industry is dependent on differentiated sources all over the world to guarantee best possible security. It is important to create a strong strategy and vision first—clear, coherent and well communicated by the leader. Everybody within the company must understand it and commit himself to it as well. For effective...
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...BRL Hardy: Globalizing an Australian Wine Company What are the organizational and management challenges surrounding BRL’s international expansion? What would you propose to overcome these? The main challenge surrounding BRL’s international expansion was its merger with Hardy. Both companies were struggling financially and needed the skills of each other’s company to be successful internationally. Organization challenges dealt with how both companies were running their respected business. It’s hard to combine two completely different companies and find a happy medium. Especially, when you have already established how things will be run in your company and you are forced to change them. To create a successful merge of BRL and Hardy, they had to both make sacrifices to better the overall company. The strategy was to protect the company’s share of bulk cask business but concentrate on branded bottle sales for growth. To fulfil this strategy, management also had to undergo many changes. A new top executive team was chosen with the majority of top jobs coming from BRL. This management team was to implement the necessary retrenchments and position them for growth. It was tough for both sides to give way and transform into a management team; many of people from Hardy felt they were outsiders and weren’t allowed into important meetings, while many from BRL felt that they needed to earn their spot again even though they had proved themselves many times before. Both sides of...
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...• Intro o In January 1998, Christopher Carson, the head of BRL Hardy Europe, faced 2 difficult decisions: Should he launch Distinto, a new line of Italian wines his group had developed, despite concerns from Australian HQ?§ § In response to a UK market opportunity, which entry-level wine should be introduced in Europe: Kelly’s Revenge, a wine developed by his European team, or Banrock Station, a wine developed by Australian HQ? o Steve Millar, Carson’s boss at HQ in Australia, believed strongly in decentralized decision-making and allowing Carson to make his own decisions, but he wanted to make sure that decisions made in Europe where consistent with BRL Hardy’s strategy to develop global brands. • Industry Background o Despite meager beginnings, by 1996, BRL Hardy had become the second largest wine producer in Australia. o Throughout the 1990’s, the Australian wine industry experience rapid growth and international expansion. Australian wines were becoming a “hot trend” throughout the international wine community. o The UK was the largest worldwide importer of Australian wine exports • Company Background and History o BRL Hardy was the result of a 1992 merger between 2 competing Australian wine producers: BRL and Thomas Hardy & Sons. At the time of the merger, the companies had very different cultures: BRL was known as very “aggressive and commercial,” while Hardy was known as “polite and traditional.”§ o The merger occurred because both companies were struggling...
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...BRL Hardy: Globalizing an Australian wine company 1. What are the specific factors that have contributed to the remarkable success of BRL Hardy following its merger? The post-merger newly created company has benefited from: _ Hardy’s award winning traditional quality company with marketing expertise and strong image. _ BRL’s fortified, bulk and value wines and its grape resources. The success can be also credited to CEO Steve Miller who emphasized on the decentralized management approach and his “have a go” mentality where he insisted on delegating some small risk decisions and pushed the company on doing 20 things at a 80% success rate instead of only 2 things at 100% (pareto principle). 2. Identify the specific sources of tension between Mr. Davies and Mr. Carson. How has Mr. Millar been able to handle these differences? How would you rate his performance? What feedback would you give him? Christopher Carson who came from a marketing experience at Hardy insisted on taking labelling and positioning decisions at local level, whether Stephen Davies who came the export division of BRL wanted to keep these decisions at the Australian Corporate level. Steve Millar was “ok” with the tension as it has been constructive and driving growth, which is exceptional in a situation like that. He has also been promoting this tension by appointing Carson as CEO of BRL Hardy Europe. 3. Should Mr. Millar approve Carson’s proposal to launch D’istinto? Defend your response with strong...
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...Learning From Mistakes People learn from the past. Either their own or from the people that lived before them. Readers can learn from the literature they read. In “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”, by Thomas Hardy, readers can learn from the actions of the characters. Written in 1891 the roles of women and men are different from what they are now. Readers can see the difference though many of the characters such as Tess Durbeyfield, Angel Clare, Alec D’Urberville, and Joan Durbeyfield. These can be shown through the characters in their relationships, thoughts, and actions. Your relationship with someone can say something about you. Once learning about their ancestry and the tragedy of the horse, Tess’s family decides to have her go visit part of their family in Trantridge. Upon her arrival she is greeted by Alec, the son of the mansion. Alec always got what he wanted and he wanted Tess. Since Tess refused his companionship Alec rapes her one night and Tess becomes pregnant. After the death of her infant, Sorrow, Tess finds new work at a dairy where she meets her new husband, Angel. On their wedding night Angel and Tess tell secrets that they have been holding in. Tess tells about Alec, and Angel decides to leave her. Tess’s past relationship changes her relationship now. This shows that who you are associated with can change how people think about you. Once Angel found out about Tess’s past he decides to go on with his apprenticeship without her. On the rode he runs into Izz...
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...de Guzman, Francesco Maria C. Humanities I – TFD2 2012-41947 Prof. Morales The Dead Man Walking They hail me as one living, But don't they know That I have died of late years, Untombed although? I am but a shape that stands here, A pulseless mould, A pale past picture, screening Ashes gone cold. Not at a minute's warning, Not in a loud hour, For me ceased Time's enchantments In hall and bower. There was no tragic transit, No catch of breath, When silent seasons inched me On to this death ... -- A Troubadour-youth I rambled With Life for lyre, The beats of being raging In me like fire. But when I practised eyeing The goal of men, It iced me, and I perished A little then. When passed my friend, my kinsfolk, Through the Last Door, And left me standing bleakly, I died yet more; The Dead Man Walking They hail me as one living, But don't they know That I have died of late years, Untombed although? I am but a shape that stands here, A pulseless mould, A pale past picture, screening Ashes gone cold. Not at a minute's warning, Not in a loud hour, For me ceased Time's enchantments In hall and bower. There was no tragic transit, No catch of breath, When silent seasons inched me On to this death ... -- A Troubadour-youth I rambled With Life for lyre, The beats of being raging In me like fire. But when I practised eyeing The goal of men, It iced me, and I perished A little then. When passed my friend...
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...more evident than in the novels Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Though each book is written in a different era and continent from each other, both authors have taken a profound look into the lives of women who, in submission of the society they live in, persevere and carry on their lives no matter what. Though Hardy’s Victorian countryside and Hosseini’s war ridden Afghanistan have very different plot lines, both novels develop the theme of inner strength of women through the protagonist’s characteristics, the conflicts in the plot and setting. In 1891 Hardy wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The novel received a public outcry and was criticized for its taboo topics and insight into a ruined woman’s private life. The passionate and intense Tess Durbeyfield, whom the novel is centralized around, faces more tragedy and injustice in her adolescent years than any women could bear and perseveres through out. Tess’s character, as well as the women around her, shows the true inner strength women possess. From the early days of Tess’s journey, the inner strength of her character is shown as she plays caretaker to her large family. Hardy presents Joan Durbeyfield, Tess’s mother: as superstitious, faintly childlike, and essentially harmless, and he had remarked that between her and Tess ‘there was a gap of two hundred years as ordinarily understood’...Hardy encourages us to be critical...
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... the family horse. Tess’ parents use the guilt that she feels to exploit her and force her to work for the family. Therefore, she encounters Alec, who ultimately rapes and impregnates Tess. Instead of Alec being condemned for his actions, Tess is publically criticized and cast aside for this act, even though she was the victim. The cruel hand of fate hangs over all the characters and actions of the novel, as Tess’ story is defined by the bad things that happen to her. Thomas Hardy himself, as the author of the book, naturally causes the many unfair coincidences and plot twists that beset Tess, however as the person telling the story, he also manages to appear as her only champion against an unjust world. Tess's difficult situations are described as mere sport for the "President of the People who will never die," which is very different from the Christian idea of a God who has a kind plan for everyone, and connects with the notes of paganism throughout the novel. Hardy also points out and draws attention to the multiple unhappy coincidences that happen, for example when Tess overhearsAngel's brothers instead of meeting his father. Throughout the story, the question continues to surface--- "why do bad things happen...
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...When I was alone at home one day, I was more excited than being afraid. My parents had gone for an invitation and had left me behind as I was not keen in going with them. I was feeling free like a bird and very independent for the first time in my life. I had some snacks that my mother had prepared along with a glass of hot chocolate, which is my favorite. I then sank into the couch and began reading one of my favorite stories of the Hardy Boys. I read the story book for about an hour and then decided to take a break. It was around 6:30 p.m. by then. My favorite television program would begin at 7:00 p.m.; although my mother instructed me on the 'dos and don'ts of watching television. Any way for about another two hours I would be the master of my life! I peeped out of the window. There was the full moon shining brightly on the streets. Some children were playing badminton on a cool wintry night. A cool and fresh gust of wind was blowing through the window. I went to the kitchen and then to the refrigerator to find something to munch on. Finding something to eat, I returned to the hall room where I became a couch potato and watched my favorite Television program. It was around 7:30 p.m. and I was sitting comfortably on the couch, when the lights went off. It was a power cut. Suddenly I found myself in darkness. What bad luck, I thought to myself. I went to find the emergency light to get rid of the darkness around me. I was feeling a bit afraid in the dark, but was finding...
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...inspiration. By making use of eccentric syntax and melancholic tone, Thomas Hardy creates a sense of nostalgia, which is influenced by his personal life and especially the death of his wife, Emma. Thomas Hardy was born in Stinsford, United Kingdom in 1840. He was born in a country where poetry dominated literature and where arguably some of the greatest poets lived including William Shakespeare. Most of his poetry got published in the later part of his life. He also wrote many famous novels to support himself financially. Some of his poetry was inspired by his first wife Emma, to whom he paid little attention to while she was alive. His works include regretful elegies inspired by his late wife. His poems have the effect of longing and nostalgia, solidified by odd syntax and diction. His other works are mostly about uncertainty of fate, time and change, and the relationship between man and nature. Hardy was a Victorian realist and he was also inspired by William Wordsworth poetry style of Romanticism. Hardy was a hardcore idealist and realist as he represented things in life as they really are and not making them out to be paradises as some poets do. He remarried to Florence Dugdale, but could never get over Emma partly because Florence was never able to give him affection that he desired. In his late age Hardy became ill and died, but most importantly, he composed his final poem for his wife Emma on his deathbed. Hardy was always “a time torn man”....
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...Angel and Tess: A Romance Fit For the Books? Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Napolean and Josephine. Throughout society's entire existence, we have known almost innately that these couples belong together, and yet fate intervened to deal their relationship a tragic blow. Yet readers persist on viewing these couples as the most passionate of all times. What makes them so unique? What makes them so compatible? What makes everyone see them as half of a whole instead of two? These couples proved to society that they belonged together, no matter what circumstances they faced . They possessed True Love, the rare gift that makes a relationship last, amidst outer turmoil. In the novel, Tess of the D'Ubervilles, by Thomas Hardy, another literary couple is portrayed. Tess Durbeyfield and Angel Clare appear to be in such an invincible love. The audience believes that they could have a happy life together as a unified couple, but, here too, fate intervenes and Tess is killed. However, the question remains in readers' minds: Would Tess and Angel’s relationship reached the level of perfection in these examples had Tess remained alive? Would their relationship have been successful? There are several factors that can define a successful relationship. In order for a relationship to be worthwhile, the relationship must possess mutual love, respect, and trust, characterized by similar backgrounds, harmonious personalities , and compatibility. Tess and Angel’s love could not have...
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...It should sway the readers or audiences with pity or fear in the end. To keep it in mind, “The Return of Native” can be coined as a village tragic novel which brings us into contact with ordinary people. Hardy is able to create genuine tragedy out of the inter-relationships between characters and the background of Egdon Heath. The protagonist (Eustacia) of the novel because of her passionate nature and ungovernable longings for fashion life resulted in her tragedy. Some of the heath folks think she is a witch. The death of her whether it is accidental or a case of suicidal, is highly pitiful. Many of the people think that she is the real tragic heroin of the novel. But if we compare her with Clym, we will come to know that he is the real tragic hero. The very title of the novel tells about his return from Paris to Egdon Heath. He is quite an emotional sort of person reluctant to reality of situations. He is actually a person who could not understand the thinking of folks of Heath as those people only longs for money not intellectual development. His unpractical idealism is the cause of his downfall (hamartia). The novel also holds some supernatural or gothic element in it which suggests that it belongs to the category of tragedy. Redman is the symbol of gothic element. Hardy has magnificently woven a tapestry of tragedy with the threads of fate, providences and tragic flaws. These three elements have proved that “End justifies means” throughout the novel. Clym is seen to be...
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...Discuss the 'Fallen Woman' as a Familiar Feature of Victorian Writing Victorian social conventions placed the female inside the male domain, a domestically cultivated flower rather than a wild one, uncontrollable and free to roam. Woman was idealised: the angel in the house, the wife complementing her husband, the helpmate of man. Social conditions offered the Victorian woman little in occupation so her aim in life was to secure a husband, succumbing to the political propaganda. As Foster states: Because so much importance was attached to the roles of wifehood and motherhood, marriage was deemed the apotheosis of womanly fulfilment, alternatives to which were regarded as pitiable or unnatural.( Foster 1985: 6) In this role of wife, woman's great function is to praise her husband and, in return, she shall be praised for ruling inside the home where she can be 'incapable of error' (Ruskin 1865: 149) In Ruskin's lecture his view is that a husband is a chivalric knight guarding his wife from the 'peril and trial' he encounters. For the 'noble' woman, her true place is in the home, an 'incorruptibly good household nun', praised for choosing 'self-renunciation' over 'self-development'(D'Amico 1992: 69). This could also be viewed as oppression. Rather than the female 'complementing' the male, she is oppressed by him, and the praise offered by Ruskin could be viewed as a weapon, lulling the female into a false consciousness, trapping her inside the home. For the Victorian...
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