Anti Jerk Control Of Hybrid Electric Vehicles Engineering Essay

Anti Jerk Control Of cross galvanizing Vehicles railway locomotiveering EssayThis interim report consists of three chapters explaining the initial analyze and re attend into anti click subordination of interbreeding voltaic fomites. This draw aims at electrification of anti-jerk ascendency in crossbreeding fomites by utilise the crown of thorns vehicle galvanising motor to damp these shakings and to analyze its effect on kindle consumption, alleviate and sportiness of the vehicle and then to comp ar the results with fuelling merely if method. This give will as well include studying the impact of unresisting damping with DMF in these vehicles. As a part of this be after, a sticker of a crossbred diesel motor motor locomotive locomotive exact p arntage with DMF will be developed development pretence X and an active feedback soften for an electric motor will be tendencyed to permit active damping of these oscillations.The results obtained from simulating the fix suck ups amazeed using poser X will be find oneselfd for advertizeline tremblings with respect to the frequency spue and also the range in which the goosy frequencies affect the passengers inside the vehicle so as to concentrate on it particularisedally galloping to maximum decrement in jerking of look atline.The toughies so developed will then subjected to throw modifications and investigation in accordance with the control strategies developed and affect of the very(prenominal) will be observed on all the ask devise moodls with level of jerk control chance upond. final examinationly Suggestions will be make on effect of electric motor on crossbreeding drive ensure in damping the driveline oscillations, fuel consumption and sportiness of the vehicle also analyze it with the stately drive admit models.IntroductionIn the age of railway locomotiveering science where every cardinal is concentrating on improving the products by bringing in sophisticate d technologies from cars to airplanes, we as homo beings neglected the environment particularor everyplace the years. 20th degree Celsius was called an industrial age and much technological advancement take been do in this era which revolutionized the whole world.One of the industries which is closely colligate to plug in our daily life be automobiles. Automobiles consecrate grown rapidly over the years with stiff competition among automotive manufacturers crosswise the world. As the measure passed by people become more(prenominal) demanding with their interests widening the automotive commercialize and also the fact that automotive majors started delivering those demands. These technological improvements along with human comfort factor outs all of us forgot about the effect on environment.The takings of vehicles on roads grew exp unmatchablentially and consumption figures of petrol and diesel across the world increased drastically sending out alarm bells to se bowh for alternate fuel technologies as the stuffy petrol diesel were not only running out from their existence hardly also bear on the environment leading to considerable amount of CO2 emissions and get ahead contribute to global warming. This future caper opened up opportunities for rese bowingh in alternative fuel technologies leading to the development of Hybrid vehicles, Fuel cellular ph peerless technologies Hydrogen fuelled cars. Few of the alternate fuel vehicles atomic number 18 Toyota Prius hybrid, Honda Civic hybrid, Honda perspicacity etc which have received good response in the grocery in hurt of performance as well as in trim down CO2 emissions and have success fully proved their presence in the market with their selling volumes and fuel savings.On a smaller level, these developments lead to further research in beas kindred DC/AC motors, fuel cells, bombardment pack railway locomotiveering science, advanced controller design, world causality optimization and new concepts which piece of tail be utilize as alternate fuels.Problem Definition commonly in every locomotive driven system issue of randomness, shakiness and harshness (NVH) comes along with it. Automotive manufacturers have al shipway tried to swan healthy comfort to performance ratio so as to take maximum customer satisfaction. With respect to comfort of driving, the manufacturers main aims ar to win vibration free driving pleasure as much as possible and the same applied to hybrid electric vehicles. One such(prenominal) ara of concern in drive line jerking which affects the boilersuit drivability. Jerking is a kind of driveline oscillations which occurs delinquent to excitation ca utilise by explosive or huge variation in railway locomotive tortuosity or driveline load. These excitations cause because of torsional vibration of drive train at mellowed- switched engine tortuousnesss leading to unwanted longitudinal oscillations of passenger compartment which reduces the riding comfort and drivability. These oscillations have tendency to occur at low engine zip ups which argon experienced as unpleasant jerking effect by the driver. Due to the fact diesel engines produce high crookedness at low engine speeds, makes these engines more pr unrivaled to this problem. The area of concentration under this case is vibration frequencies ranging among 2- 10 Hz as human body is thin towards this frequency range causing unpleasant driving experience.These driveline oscillations majorly occur during expiration in and intercept out conditions. In conventional diesel engine vehicles methods like active control of fuel injection into engine and passive element such as bivalent mass flywheel are utilize to permit feed forward active as well as passive damping of these unpleasant oscillations in idle, tip-in/tip out and coast conditions. To attain minimal amount of driveline oscillations, vehicle manufacturers have to compromise mingled with c omfort and performance of the vehicle. In diesel hybrids, the jerking spate be controlled by varying fuel injection and electric motor contortion control and also passively by an additional dual mass flywheel (DMF).Aims ObjectivesThe aims and objectives of this project areTo develop a model with three unalike physical bodys of reasontrain using air X those are Conventional diesel engine, Conventional diesel engine with DMF and netly hybrid billet train with DMF.To study the effectuate of jerk in each individual office train variety before developing the control strategy for anti jerk control.To telegraph the anti jerk control in hybrid vehicles by using Crank digging integrated stator/ writer to damp the oscillations.To analyze the effect on fuel consumption, comfort and sportiness of the vehicle.To compare the results with conventional fuel control method. books ReviewHybrid electrical VehiclesHybrid Electric Vehicle is the one which uses two or more sources of vital force to propel the vehicle which consists of an inhering combustion engine and electric motor fibre by batteries. Hybrid vehicles are of various types such as series hybrid, check hybrid and combination of series parallel and base on their hybridization factor they are categorise into micro, mild and full hybrids. convention 1, beneath shows the emblematic place tell type former train. Generally, hybrid advocator trains are costly to build callable to its complexness but the costs are paid off against the running costs payable to improved fuel efficiency. Regenerative braking plays an important role in conserving energy by charging the outpouring pack. normal Showing a index finger Split Hybrid PowertrainTypes of Hybrid vehicles based on drive train structureParallel HybridIn parallel hybrid vehicles, there are two parallel ways for transmitting power to the wheels of the vehicle those are by engine and by electric drive, as shown in below figure 2. The contagion is united with the motor/author and the engine, allowing either, or both, to power the wheels. Control architecture of parallel hybrid vehicles is more complex compared to a series hybrid due to the requirement of efficient coupling of the motor/ reservoir and engine so as to maintain optimum drivability and performance. mannequin Parallel Hybrid Powertrain operate modes open in parallel hybrid vehicles areEngine only tractionElectric only tractionHybrid tractionRegenerative braking series HybridIn series hybrid there is only one way for transmitting power to the wheels of the vehicle, but consists two energy sources. As shown in figure 3, the conventional engine is coupled to a generator for charging the barrage fire pack which returns electrical energy to a motor/generator to power the wheels via transmission. The motor/generator rear end also be apply for recharging the barrage fire during braking and deceleration. externalize serial publication Hybrid Power train dir ect modes for sale in series hybrid vehicles areElectric only tractionElectric traction battery charging shelling charging and no tractionRegenerative brakingSeries-Parallel (unite) Hybrid electric vehiclesA Series-Parallel (combined) hybrid vehicle has both the aspects Series and Parallel energy transfer paths. As shown in figure 5, a system consisting of motors and/or generators consisting of a adapting or power split doodad allows the engine to re agitate the battery. Changes in this power train configuration merchantman range from simple to very complex type depending on the number of motors /generators and their working terminology.These configurations can be called as Complex hybrids (such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrids), Split-Parallel hybrids, or Power-Split hybrids.Figure Series-Parallel (Combined) Hybrid Power trainDriveline JerkingDriveline jerking also called as driveline oscillations can occur due to many different factors such as load changes, gear displacement and also the condition of the road. In recent times, direct injection diesel engines with extensive refinement of components and significant weight reduction in driveline lead to the problem of driveline jerking. Also with advancement in diesel engine technology over the years, issue torque of these diesel engines has risen tremendously for passenger cars effecting the comfort and drivability. The problem with high engine torque is, it causes torsion of driveline due to the gear ratios of the final drive causing the torsion at drive shafts which in turn causes whole power train to oscillate with combined effect of vehicle jerking. Figure 5, shown below show the measurements on a test car ca utilise by tip in behavior in which driver suddenly steps on the throttle combined with high torque gradient and tip out condition, the back out maneuver.Figure Engine torque and engine speed for tip in and tip out maneuvers.though the oscillations caused by engine speed are sligh tly absorbed by engine mounts but the oscillations due to wheel speed is responsible for horizontal vibrations of the vehicles longitudinal acceleration affecting the performance of the vehicle which is experienced directly by passengers. To restrain these oscillations affecting the comfort and drivabilityfor the passengers, damping of these driveline oscillations is infallible which is referred to as Anti Jerk Control. The oscillations leading to power train jerking in conventional power train can be categorized by the Eigen frequencies of following driveline componentsTorsion of shafts causes pitching and jerking due to good luck system, mass of the vehicle and damping. The range of frequency for this cause lies between 2 5 Hz. Also, we know that the natural frequency of the vehicle with respect to pitch motion is lies between 1 2.5 Hz.The frequency of oscillations caused by engine driving force and mounts lies in the range of 15 200 Hz.The vibration due to gearbox assembly lies in the frequency range of 50-80 Hz.There are oscillation depending upon the type of engine, no. of cylinders, engine speed and also the combustion execute shown in below figureTable showcasing different engine types and their Eigen frequenciesEngine TypeMultiples of Eigen Frequency4-Cylinder ,R4, 4-Stroke2,4,6,8,106-Cylinder,R4, 4-stroke3,6,96-Cylinder,V60,4-Stroke1,5, 3, 4,5, 6, 7,5, 96-Cylinder,V90,4-Stroke1,5, 3, 4,5, 7,5, 912-Cylinder, V60, 4-Stroke6,12From the above categorization of the components and their individual Eigen frequencies, the main aim is to narrow down on the components leading to vibrations which are felt by passengers majorly and to minimize the level of vibrations by designing model based predictive control strategy age retaining the performance of the vehicle as much as possible.Hybrid Vehicle DesignThe power train which has been considered for testing the jerking behavior and the anti jerk control strategy to be designed is shown in the below figu re 6. This power train is one of the possible hybrid vehicle architecture consisting of I.C engine, CISG (Crankshaft merged Starter/ Generator), Dual grass Flywheel (DMF), suitcase, caravanbox assembly , High potentiality battery pack and power electronics.Figure Hybrid Vehicle architectureIn operation, at lower rpm the vehicle acts as excellent electric vehicle powered by the on dining table battery pack and at higher rpm, both electric drive and I.C engine together produce required power by the vehicle. The percentage of power transmission sharing to propel the vehicle plays an important role in determining fuel efficiency.Design ConsiderationsThe components and factors which play important role in hybrid electric vehicle design shown in figure 6 areEngine design and selection The I.C engine as in conventional power train plays an important role in hybrid vehicles. Generally, engines designed for hybrid vehicles are smaller in size compared to conventional vehicles. Thoug h the design selection of the engine is completely based on the power requirements of the vehicle.Crankshaft integrated starter/generator (CISG) The starter/generator is device which is controlled electronically. It combines both the functions of a conventional starter and generator into a one single unit. The motive of single CISG unit is replacing the starter as a single entity which is passive in nature need to switch over the old fashioned belt and pulley type connection between the alternator the engine. Also to replace the modern day rotor wound alternators with compositors case rings and brushes. The integrated starter/generator works as a bi-directional device which converts electrical energy to mechanical work and vice versa. As a electric motor, it assists in starting the I.C engine without any noise and also much suppleer than conventional starter. As a generator it produces power required for electrical components of the vehicle and is also used to charge the batt eries. Commonly integrated starter/generator is placed between engine and gearbox assembly. The main operating features of ISG are it enables stat/stop, onboard power generation and acts as power assist when required.Figure Integrated Starter / Generator.Dual Mass Flywheel (DMF) Dual mass flywheel consists of two flywheels machine-accessible by long arc travel springs located between I.C engine and delay or transmission. The beginning DMF was introduced for the automotive industry in 1985. At that time non lubricated dampers were used consisting of heavy springs which were problematic. consequently there was breakthrough in the DMF technology and arc spring type dampers was introduced in 1989 solving almost all the problems which were caused by DMF earlier. Due to the high cost of this product not everyone was interested but was used in large vehicles. Though DMF is a passive driveline element, it has been prove that DMF reduces torsional vibrations to certain extent and plays an important role in anti jerk control of hybrid vehicles also. The operating performance of DMF can be characterized by the spring rate and its damping characteristics.The dual mass flywheel consists of following important characteristics unproblematic and substitute(prenominal) inertias.The torsion damper rate.And the damping characteristic.Advantages of using DMF in conventional power train areSegregation of torsional vibrations we know that, torsional vibrations are caused by torque fluctuations. A vehicle is a kind of vibrating system with all the components like engine, transmission, drive shafts etc all contributing to the cause. Below figure 8, shows the simple driveline model so as to observe vibration behaviour. In this case engine and transmission are supposed as rotating inertia connected by springs. The spring C2 represents the spring damper characteristics and spring C3 showing the stiffness of the drive train.Figure Drive train with vibration modes.Figure 9 shown be low depicts the fluctuations in vehicle speed and in this case damped resonance occurs at around 1700 rpm. The main aim of DMF is to sideline the vibrations occurring from the engine as distant as possible from the rest of the driveline components. Also the figure compares the difference between the extents of vibrations in a conventional drive train compared to one fitted with dual mass flywheel. Dual mass flywheel efficiently reduces the engine vibrations and reduces gear rattle, helps in saving the fuel consumption and also improves driving comfort.Figure comparing of vibration damping in a conventional drive train to the one with DMFTransmission assistance As DMF is said to reduce the engine vibrations, it has confirming effect on the transmission system as the stress generate will be significantly less compared to a compared drive line increasing the transmission efficiency and cycle life.Crank shaft assistance In a conventional power train, we know that flywheel and clut ch are connected to engine crankshaft rigidly and due to the inertia of the flywheel high chemical reaction forces are developed on the crankshaft. But in case of DMF, the secondary flywheel can be neglected for bending load case as it connected loosely to the pristine flywheel by torsional damper and roller bearings which practically dont allow high transferable reactive forces. The primary flywheel is significantly brightness in weight, more elastic in nature compared to conventional flywheel.Battery pack design and selection The main criteria in battery design and selection depend upon the capacity, the output characteristics based on type of battery pack to be used, cycle life, cost, scope of reusability and whether recyclable on not. The size and weight of the battery pack depends on the capacity requirement. If capacity is high, more will be size and weight of the battery pack. In fact, battery pack design plays a very important role as the performance of the vehicle is dep endent on the overall weight of the vehicle. In case battery pack is heavier, this would have direct impact on the power catchd to propel the vehicle which is develop to rise with increase in battery weight and will also reduce the operating range of the vehicle.Figure Typical Battery pack arrangementElectric force Generally AC, DC and PMDC electric motors are used in hybrid vehicle depending upon the requirement and usage. In automotive industry, certain motor specifications are not acceptable due to their inability to meet the specific requirements such as power rating at peak load conditions, unvarying power supply, volumetric power density, cost, efficiency, weight, lifetime, level of protection against water and dust.Gear box assembly In hybrid vehicles, mostly a power splitter device is used which is consists of artificial satelliteary gear set allowing power flow from two power generating sources to propel the vehicle. The I.C engine is generally connected to Sun gear w hile electric motor is connected to the planet gear.Clutch It is found in every vehicle with manual of arms gearbox. Though the use of clutch varies from one hybrid drive train to another(prenominal) depending the gearbox being used as most of the hybrid power trains use automatic transmission which dont require clutch. The main purpose of clutch is to assist the vehicle starting off from stand still go under as it compensates for the speed difference between engine and the driveline and slips on to synchronize both. Clutch also used to engage and disengages engine from the transmission while gear shifting takes place.Modelling ApproachProcedure of workPower train jerking in hybrid vehicles is majorly due to engine electric motor torque changes during tip in and tips out operations. For investigating the problem of jerking for a hybrid vehicle, certain steps have been lay out for mildew the power train in five different steps which are in below figure 9 to observe and analyze e ach case individually with root causeFigure Modelling ProcedureBasic Driveline EquationsEngine The engine output torque is expressed by the driving torque (Te) generated from combustion , friction torque (Tfric,e) and the external load from clutch (Tc) .By Newtons second law of motion, we can achieve the following modelWhere Je is the mass of inertia of the engine, is the crank angular acceleration.Clutch Generally a friction type clutch is installed in vehicles with manual transmission connecting to the engine flywheel and input shaft of the transmission. During clutch engagement if we come in no inherent friction, Tc = Tt can be obtained. Then the torque transmitted is function of angular difference (cs c) and angular speed difference ( ) resulting inFigure vehicle driveline with corresponding move and torque labels.Transmission A transmission consists of a gear set each with a different operating ratio it leading to sexual congress between input and output torqueWhere Tp is the transmission output and Tfric is the internal friction torque of the transmission.Propeller shaft The shaft which connects the transmissions output to the final drive unit in which no friction is assumed which gives us Tp = Tf , resulting in model for torque input to final driveFinal Drive final drive can be considered as a final ratio if as for the transmission leading to input and output torque relationDrive Shafts The shafts which connect wheels to the final drive are called drive shafts. It can be assumed that both the wheels are rotating at same speed ( ). Ignoring the vehicle dynamics, the wheel speed shall be suitable to speed of vehicle bodys centre of gravity.Therefore, drive shafts can be modelled as one shaft.Wheels The forces acting on a vehicle with mass (m) and fastness (v) the longitudinal forces (FL)acting on the vehicle givesRolling resistance (Rr) = f*m*g and Aerodynamic drag (Ra) =1/2*Af*Cd**V2.Where, m=mass of the vehicle, g=gravity constant, f=0.015(co -efficient of rolling resistance), Rr=rolling resistance, Ra=aerodynamic drag, Af=cross sectional area, Cd=coefficient of drag, density (), V=velocity.The drive line model can be expressed as a system consisting of rotating lumped inertias, compliances, damping tone endinges, input torque and loads acting due to environmental resistive forces. A simple 2 degree of freedom model (fig 10) is sufficient to show the first torsional mode of vibrations which lead to jerking of vehicle.Figure Free body diagram of a conventional drivelineWhere, Teng = engine torque, road load = Tload , e = engine speed, v = vehicle speed, Je = mass issue of inertia, be = viscous friction, r = final drive ratio, Ks CS = drive shafts flexibility, Cw = damper, vehicle inertia = Jv.Hybrid Power train ModelAs discussed earlier in report, the hybrid power train consists of additional components compared to conventional type which include electric motor, batteries, power electronics which form together the el ectric drive unit of the vehicle.Engine Engine in hybrid power train plays a very important role in terms of fuel savings and vehicle assist. An engine model to be used for hybrid power train must be considered for following issuesThe engine model must produce desired torque output disregardless of operating conditions.The engines dynamic behaviour leading to torque fluctuations generates drive line vibrations which in turn affects the driver comfort.As engine is not quick enough to respond to control actions implemented externally, the response delay can have significant affect on the vehicles performance.Engine can be modeled in many different ways depending upon the level of complexity required and the availability of parameters which can later be used for validating the inputs. The introductory equation of engine model has been already discussed earlier which can be applied for the hybrid power train model also.Electric Motor/ Controller The electric traction motor and contr oller consume the power from the onboard energy storage device like battery to provide the power source so as to generate the required torque for vehicle propulsion. The electric motor can also be used as starter/alternator or as a generator to regenerate energy during braking which can be used to charge batteries. The traction motor model can be described by following equationsWhere idr , iqr are d,q axis vertebra rotor online respectively ids ,iqs are d, q axis primary current respectively Lm, is mutual inductance Lr , LJ are resolved rotor, stator inductance respectively P are poles Rr, Rs are resolved rotor, stator resistance respectively, ohms Vds Vqs are d, q axis primary potential respectively, V dr and qr are d, q axis rotor equivalent flux respectively, V-sec ds and qs are d,q axis stator equivalent flux respectively, V-sec e is synchronous frequency, rps r is rotor frequency, rps , is rotor acceleration, rps2 Ts is electric motor torque, Nm.The limiting torque of the m otor can be expressed byWhere b, is motor base speed, rpm m is mechanical motor speed, rpm Prated is the rater motor power, hp Trated is the rated motor torque, Nm Tm is mechanical motor torque, Nm.In addition to this, equations of motion for DC electric machine areWhere is the torque output of the machine relative to the armature current, e is the back emf of the machine is proportional to the velocity of the rotorDrive Shaft The drive shaft plays very important role in the drive train for transmitting the torque and rotation. They are subjected high torsion and shear stresses and therefore must have must have high stiffness. Below shown in the drive modelled using lumped inertias and their corresponding grassroots equationsTDS =KDS (T W) + CDS (T W)Wheels The forces acting on a vehicle with mass (m) and velocity (v) the longitudinal forces (Fe)acting on the vehicle givesStationary model of the vehicle assumptive all forces act through the centre of gravity and only in longitu dinal direction.Gears Assuming no losses in transmission the basic equation for gearing isBut in reality there are viscous losses, sealing bearings drag contact friction. Losses vary with gear change but can be modelled as a loss torque tl acting on the transmission input shaft there can be shown asCapacitor It is device which stores energy an can be modelled by current equationBattery Batteries are characterized by energy density, C-rating, cycle life, thermal run away and variations in temperature. Table below shows the comparison among different types of batteries with their technical specifications available in the market for HEV applicationsPropertyLead AcidNiMHLithiumCell electromotive force Volts21.23.6Energy Density WH/Kg30-4050-80100-200Power Density W/Kg100-200100-500500-8000Maximum Discharge Rate6 -10C15C100CUseful mental ability DOD%5050-8080Charge Efficiency %60-8070-90100 ego Discharge %/Month3-4302-10Temperature Range C-40 +60-30 +60-40 +60Cycle Life Cycles600-90010 002000Micro-cycle TolerantDeterioratesYesYesRobust ( over/Under Voltage)YesYes ask BMSCost per kWH100170150 TargetA basic battery model might include an open circuit voltage and internal resistance Rc and RdSOC CalculationSOCic = initial SOC of the battery (assume 1 fully charged)Ibat = battery current that can be both positive and disconfirmingQbat = battery capacity (Ah), needs converting to A.s for the simulationSimulation ToolSimulation XSimulation X is a multi domain program for modeling and simulation created by ITI GmbH. Some of its main features and capabilities areEnables high level modelling platform for complex systems.Integrated with CAE design toolOver 30 standard industry specific libraries including automotive.Development of user specific libraries based on standard ones.Object oriented modelling manner of speaking for simple and efficient modelling.Implementation of user based C label through external sources.Provides interface between various software available i n market such as MATLAB/Simulink etc.Analysis tools available in Simulation X areTransient Simulation suitable of computing linear and non-linear models in the time domain.Steady State Simulation Analyzing the models in periodic steady state condition dependent on a specific reference value.Linear System Analysis (Natural frequencies and mode shapes) Efficiently generates damped and un damped natural frequencies of the complete system , time constants , eigen vectors, oscillations of state variables related to particular eigen frequencies.Linear System Analysis (Input Output Analysis) Enables linearization in the current operating point , analysis, export of state space matricesModelling in Simulation XThe vehicle type selected for the analysis of jerking and its do is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) powered by a diesel engine shown earlier in figure 6 consisting a conventional diesel engine with crankshaft integrated starter generator (CISG), a DMF, a transmission gear box, a clu tch between the transmission and the DMF, differential as a part of conventional power train and high voltage battery pack with power electronics on board as electric drive unit for the vehicle. Creating simulation models for hybrid power train requires various components of power train such as mechanics, hydraulics, electronics and pneumatics including the control aspects involved.

Adaptive Energy Efficient Transmission in WSNs

Adaptive Energy Efficient contagion in WSNsA novel approach for adaptive energy expeditious contagious disease in WSNsS Murthy Vedireswarapu, Muni Bhaskar. Athikayala Shankar.TAbstractIn wire little sensing element networks (WSNs), demodulator nodes work on finite capacity batteries. So, in narrate to improver network lifetime the mobile sensor nodes should be operated at low cause. Hence, we extremity a novel approach for efficient shunning for transmitting in WSNs. In this avoidance, agree to temperature changes the connectivity betwixt sensor nodes is estimated by victimisation turn over iteration process, the network is divided into one-third localitys establish on shut tat feedback process which helps to reduce packets overhead in the network. Region dependent threshold on loss of vector occasion (RSloss) and present frame of nodes in all(prenominal) realm helps to adjust transmission office staff level according to changes in connectivity between node s because of changes in temperature. This organisation achieves high energy saving than existing conventional method.Index damagethreshold on transmitter power loss, wireless sensor networks (WSNs), transmitter power level.I. INTRODUCTIONWireless sensor networks (WSNs) works based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard. This standard operates at frequency of 2.4GHZ and data rate of 250 kbps. WSNs ar utilise mainly in industrial, bio medical, security surveillance and weather monitoring applications. severally sensor node consists of radio transmitter, receiver, sensing unit, processing unit and limited capacity battery 1 .Because of limited battery lifetime at each sensor node, the transmitter power level should be minimized to increase the energy capability and network lifetime of WSNs. In WSNs all the systems should be operate at low power to increase energy efficiency because it is an important concern in wireless communion.To collect data from unalike environments sensor nodes are deployed at different locations within WSNs. While the communication between sensor nodes they consume less power as sensor nodes operate on limited battery, and temperature effects the connectivity between the sensor nodes. So, we need to reduce energy consumption for communication between sensor nodes, and at the same time ensure that good connectivity between sensor nodes in order to increase network life time 2-4.we analyzed a novel scheme for Ptlevel to efficiently adjust the connectivity between nodes due to temperature changes. This scheme improves network lifetime while maintaining good connectivity between sensor nodes. By using temperature sensor, the connectivity between each node is estimated in open twine process. Estimated degradation in connectivity is compensated by using closed enlace feedback process in the new scheme. In this scheme we obtain less transmission power compared to existing schemes.II. LITERATURE REVIEWIn algorithm of local mean (LMA), Based on r educe of received acknowledgements by the reference node the transmission Plevel is adjusted according to threshold transmission Ptlevel .It improves network lifetime but arsenot estimate the link quality 5. In otherwise existing schemes based on RSloss, transmitter Ptlevel is estimated 6.In other existing scheme closed loop feedback process is used for connectivity love .In this scheme each node aware of required Ptlevel to be retained with its adjacent nodes. According to connectivity changes it adjusts the transmission power level 7.The above schemes cannot promise both low power transmission and good connectivity between nodes. The new scheme efficiently adjusts the connectivity changes according to temperature changes. Based on RSloss ,Ptlevel is estimated for all ternion characters for good connectivity between the nodes.III. PROBLEM STATEMENTIn WSNs due to multipath contemporaries signal strength varies irregularly, the signal strength mainly depends on the patrimon ial power at any time. The reason for the pas seul in the RSloss .First the variation in signal strength according to distance due to multipath effect, secondly the environmental factors like temperature effects the signal strength. So the temperature is one of the main factors which affect the RSloss and transmission power level. Hence we need to compensate these parameters according to surrounding temperature variations.IV. SOLVING METHODOLOGYIn this scheme open loop feedback process uses temperature sensor to detect the temperature variations. In closed loop feedback process, transmission Ptlevel is adjusted based on control packets overhead. Based on open loop and closed loop feedback process the network is divided into ternary logical partings as high, medium and low represented with X, Y and Z respectively. In this scheme we use RSloss to measure the connectivity with relatively low overhead. founder loopnc(t)nd(t) Closed loop phone number 1 Block diagramV. ENERGY-EFFICIEN T contagion SCHEME.In this scheme, transmission Ptlevel is adjusted by the power controller by utilizing the current number of nodes and temperature sensed by each node. Temperature compensation is do in case of any changes in temperature sensed at a sensor by using the relation between temperature and RSloss. Transmission power loss due to temperature variation is presumptuousness as 9RSlossdBm=0.1996*(T0C-250C).By using LSA the transmitter Ptlevel is obtained as follows 9Ptlevel=(RSloss+40)/122.91According to free space model the existing transmitter power level is obtained as follows,PtrdBm= *( Eb/No)*mkTB*(4d/)2+RNF+RSlossHere number of nodes (N), distance between each node (d),signal to noise ratio(Eb/No), spectral efficiency(), frequency(f) and liquidator noise figure(RNF). 9The main variables are transmitter power loss and transmitter power in each region decides the working of working of algorithm.A beacon message is broadcasted periodically by the reference node and wait s for ACKs. If ACKs are received from nodes, RSloss is estimated for division of network logically, considering region X with high RSloss, region Y with medium RSloss and low RSloss as Z region. Estimating of transmitter Ptlevel is as follows If RSloss loss threshold then default transmitter Ptlevel is assigned. In other case if RSloss RSloss threshold and nc(t) nd(t) ,then threshold Ptlevel is assigned. For similar case with nc(t) d(t) transmitter Ptlevel is assigned.Minimum, uttermost and Average value of RSloss for all nodes present in the network can formulated as followsRSloss(min)=min(RSloss(k)),RSloss(max)=max(RSloss(k)),RSloss (Avg) = (min(RSloss(k)) + max(RSloss(k)))/2Then limits of the three regions are given as 7For region XRSloss( X max)=max(RSloss(k)),RSloss( X min)= (RSloss(Avg)) + 2Figure 2 Flow chart of reference node 7To count number of nodes in each region, a counter is initialized with initially zero.For region YRSloss( Y max)=(RSloss(Avg)) + 2RSloss( Y min)=(R Sloss(Avg)) 2For region ZRSloss( Z max)=(RSloss(Avg)) 2RSloss( Z min)=min(RSloss(k)) k NRSloss( X Threshold) =RSloss( Y Threshold) =RSloss( Z Threshold) =RSloss-new(X,Y,Z)(k)=RSloss(Threshold X,Y,Z)Given that for all k N,RSloss(Threshold X,Y,Z) RSloss(X,Y,Z)(k)And nc(t)(X,Y,Z) nd(t)(X,Y,Z)RSloss-new(X,Y,Z)(k)=RSloss(X,Y,Z)(k)Given that for all k N,RSloss(Threshold X,Y,Z) RSloss (X,Y,Z)(k)And nc(t)(X,Y,Z) nd(t)(X,Y,Z) orRSloss(Threshold X,Y,Z)RSloss(X,Y,Z)(k)Estimation of Ptlevel for new RSloss is formulated as for all k N,Ptlevel-new(X,Y,Z)(k)= (RSloss-new(X,Y,Z)(k)+40)/122.91The battle between Ptlevels assigned before and after the proposed scheme is denoted as Ptsave.Ptsave (X,Y,Z) = VI. dissembling RESULTSFigure 3 Transmitter power saved in region X for different reference node location.From figure 3, we can generalize that, maximum Ptsave is 12dBm to 21dBm. When a reference node is at origin of the square up region, Ptsave is constant around 1dBm.Figure 4 Transmitt er Ptsave in region Y for different reference node location. From above figure, we can infer that maximum. Ptsave for region Y varies from 12dBm to 21dBm Figure 5 Transmitter Ptsave in region Z for different reference location.Figure 6 Transmitter power for different rounds.From above figure 5, we can infer that Ptsave for region Z varies from -20dBm to 20dBm.From figure 6, we can clearly observe that Pt lies between -84dBm to 80dBm.VII. cobblers lastBy using this scheme the energy consumption of the mobile nodes is lessen in WSNs. This scheme uses both open loop control and closed loop feedback control process. The temperature changes are adjusted with the help of open loop process. By using these two processes the energy consumption of mobile sensor nodes is reduced by comparing with existing schemes. By dividing the network into three different regions we can prolong the lifetime of network and maintains good connectivity between sensor nodes.

Re-branding and Repositioning of the Republic Bank Group

Re- betraying and dislodge of the re worldly concern depone groupingPracticumThe Re- provokering and Repositioning of the republic blaspheme Group The Case of volume rule bound DR S.A.Executive SummaryA f any guy is the sum of the customers experiences with the returns or friendship how the customer thinks and feels about what the descent does. The snitch is transmitted in every interaction with the customer over the biography of the similitudeship and is therefore built from the customers entire experience with the accompany, non retributory through the companys communicated identity. It therefore plays a critical role in mental synthesis trust and loyalty.According to the 4-D Branding model devised by Thomas spurring (refer Appendix 1) the make ope locates at four varied levels in the discernment of the customer. These four levels acknowledge the functional (the perception of benefit of the product or service associated with the brand), the social (the of fice to create identification with a group), the phantasmal (the perception of global or local responsibility) and the mental (the ability to suffer the individual mentally). These four dimensions are derived from the customers experiences at the brand touch-points and combine to ricochet the customers overall perception of the brand.The challenges facing brands today so far so are numerous, and in financial work the challenges are even much acute because of the intangibleness of the facilities cosmos cand. In the case of bevels that operate in diverse territories, the study(ip) challenge lies in the ability to balance global or regional brand integrity with local cultural authenticity. These brands must be executable on a global or regional scale, but carry on relevant at the local level.The state pious platitude Group approach this dilemma as it expanded its motions to embrace several(prenominal)(prenominal) Caribbean territories with different cultures, preferen ces, languages and modes of behaviour. The branding challenge in such an environment send packing twist quite complex, with the level of complexity multiplying across subsidiaries and divisions of the bank, product lines, commercializes and even publicise agencies. Controlling brand identity in such an environment can be exigent.The case of Banco Mercantil, res publica bank buildings subsidiary in the friar preacher democracy, however posed a different challenge. The viability of that brand was undermined by a conclave of internal (mis way) and environmental (stinting decline and near crash of the financial system) factors that take to the complete erosion of its brand equity in a relatively short space of time. The brand ceased to engender trust and confidence among its customers and duration it still existed at the functional level from the point of view of providing banking services, it was necessitous of credibility at the social, spiritual and mental levels.Follow ing qualitative explore involving a population of 1200 households spanning the banks three major market place segments (mass, private and collective/ mercenary), the bank faced the decision of rebuilding the actual brand re-branding with a completely impertinently identity or adopting the identity and brand of the fresh personaholder. Subsequent to SWOT and force theme analyses macrocosm conducted, the decision was taken to re-brand Banco Mercantil by adopting the arouse or heritage brand i.e. land shore Limited through the introduction of the chassis Republic wedge DR S.A. and falsify over the operations to focus primarily on the private banking and incarnate and commercial market niches in the Dominican Republic.The re-branding exercise spanned two geographic locations and several stakeholder groups, from employees to customers and regulators in the Dominican Republic, as closely as the shareholder in Trinidad and Tobago. May 5, 2005 was a historic day in Repu blic situates recital as it signalled the start of a re-branding deal that should embrace the entire banking group. such an exercise is critical at this time, as the desire continues to broaden its stair within the Caribbean, prepare itself for increased competition in the markets in which it soon operates, and positions itself to win the minds and hearts of regional customers.Several considerations were apparent in the transport of name of the Dominican subsidiary to Republic desire DR, fore roughly among them being the cultural implications of adopting the new name and the countersink that were imbedded in the brand. While the determine themselves were not alien to the Dominican society, there were almost differences in their rendition stemming from cultural and social indoctrination. The rigorous systems and procedures for example, which are inherent in the British banking system that Republic depose inherited from its predecessor Barclays bound, were not as string ently applied in the Dominican chamfer. The non-application was less a demo of deviant behaviour and much a response to cultural norms and values consistent with the Latin culture. A double-dyed(a) spirit and appreciation of the deflection in the cultures of the Caribbean were critical to the formulation and operation of an effective communications computer program during the channelise process from Banco Mercantil to Republic cant DR, in order to arrest understanding and acceptance of the interchange.The primary drivers for change in the case of Banco Mercantil were the absence of equity associated with the patented brand, arising from the loss of trust and confidence in the bank, the disillusion of the banks employees which impacted performance and hence line of work viability in the short, medium and recollective term, and the square desire to turn the banks fortunes around. These brainish forces strongly outweighed any restraining forces that mogul have exist ed, including the loss of somatic identity and bailiwick pride. The force field digest performed in the course of the hit the books clearly revealed the need for change.The change of name from Banco Mercantil to Republic Bank DR S.A. is historic in the Republic Bank context, as it is the first of Republic Banks acquired subsidiaries to undergo a retirement of its proprietary brand and the adoption of the overarching heritage brand. The Banks customary approach of maintaining the proprietary brands of acquisitions has resulted in the Republic Bank Group carrying a diverse portfolio of bodily brands in the Caribbean, culminating in a somewhat complicated brand landscape, and under- supplement of its heritage brand away of its principal market, Trinidad and Tobago.The re-branding of Banco Mercantil therefore stick outs the catalyst for, and the foundation upon which the re-branding of the Republic Bank Group may be undertaken. The major hindrance to the achievement of this butt however is the strength of emotion and home(a) pride that still bug the brands of the acquired subsidiaries in Grenada, Guyana and Barbados in particular.From a Republic Bank Group attitude there are likewise several important drivers advocating re-branding of the entire banking group. These hold the increasing globalisation of dividing line, the imminent introduction of the CSME and eventually the FTAA or opposite similar trade agreement the Banks need to broaden its regional whole tone to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that would wind from increased globalisation, and the equity that would be derived from a meaning(a)ly stronger and more sticky brand.Whether approached as a big bang or on a phased basis spanning weeks, months or years, a re-branding of the entire banking group would derive significant benefits in the long term from financial, identity, cost and control perspectives. In the nett analysis, the eventual success would not only be meas ured by the presence of physical artifacts such as Republic Bank signage on branches and offices in all of the islands. It would also be measured by the Banks ability to leverage financially from its corporate brand in several areas of business, and to provide a consistently lavishly quality of service in all markets. The long-term objective however would be the achievement of the vision of being the bank of choice for customers, staff and shareholders and in so doing capturing the minds and hearts of the Caribbean people. proclamation Form for the reproduction of the documentGiven the steeply competitive disposition of the banking industry in the Caribbean and hence the confidential nature of the information contained in this study, reproduction or sharing of any information contained herein is stringently prohibited without expressed and written consent from the author and Republic Bank Limited.1. IntroductionOrigins and PurposeThe Republic Bank Group is one of the largest and most profitable financial services groups in the Caribbean. Originating from Barclays Bank and its predecessor compound Bank, Republic Bank has served the people of the Caribbean, specifically Trinidad and Tobago for 168 years.This study seeks to reposition and re-brand the Republic Bank Group, as the Bank trends closer to its vision of being the Bank of pickax in the Caribbean. Re-branding of the Group is curiously critical at this time, as the Bank continues to prepare itself for increased competition in the markets in which it presently operates, as well as for further expansion within and away of the Caribbean.1.2 The Case of Banco MercantilIn establishing a framework for the re-branding exercise, the study looks specifically at the case of Banco Mercantil S.A., Republic Banks subsidiary in the Dominican Republic, which was newly re-branded and repositioned in that market (May 5, 2005). The new bank, Republic Bank DR S.A. will focus primarily on the private banking and c orporate and commercial market niches in the Dominican Republic, as it charts a path to profitability.In conducting the study, attention was paid to the process that was demand in the execution of the re-branding and the benefits to be derived by the brand arising from the change of name and identity. In discussing the re-branding of Banco Mercantil, the study analyses the corporate identities of Republic Bank and Banco Mercantil to memorize their status and the existence of any disconnects that might exist. It also identifies the reasons for the Banks earlier vacillation at re-branding its Caribbean acquisitions, the cultural shifts that are required at some(prenominal) the parent and subsidiary levels, the move to commence the process in the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic and the foundation that is laid for an escalation of the re-branding process throughout the Caribbean.The framework complete for the re-branding of Banco Mercantil, and detailed in this study, may be us ed with appropriate adjustments to ply to cultural, social and political differences, to the re-branding and repositioning of Republic Banks some other Caribbean acquisitions, namely the depicted object Commercial Bank of Grenada Limited (NCB), The National Bank of Industry and mercantilism Limited (NBIC) in Guyana and the Barbados National Bank (BNB).1.3 Historic StepThe change of name of Banco Mercantil to Republic Bank DR S.A. is historic in the Republic Bank context, as it is the first of Republic Banks acquired subsidiaries to undergo an identity change, and would as suggested above, provide the catalyst for, and the foundation upon which the re-branding of Republic Banks Caribbean empire might be undertaken.1.4 preludeThe study adopts an analytical approach to the re-branding exercise and draws upon the results of two surveys conducted in the Dominican Republic and Grenadian markets to sieve the corporate painting of Republic Banks subsidiaries in those countries. It al so employs several change counselling and corporate identity management models in its analysis of the current situations in the Dominican Republic and the southern and Eastern Caribbean, and in devising recommendations for the Groups re-branding. The historic background of the Republic Bank Group is described, the environmental landscape in the Dominican Republic examined and the whim for change in that state of matter discussed, to put into context the decision to re-brand Banco Mercantil.The study also employs Kurt Lewins model for change specifically in the execution of the re-branding of Banco Mercantil, and in so doing provides a framework for executing similar changes in other subsidiaries in the future(a). Fundamental marketing concepts articulated by Kotler and Jeannet and Hennessey were combined with more recent models related to branding by communications and branding experts such as gutter M.T. Balmer and Stephen Greyser as well as the use of the stalwart strategi c models from experts such as Lewin, Mintzberg and Kammerer.The clime for change in the southern and Eastern Caribbean and the macro environmental drivers that have impacted the Banks hesitation at re-branding its subsidiaries thus far were also diagnosed and analysed, using Force Field Analyses. These examined the driving forces pushing for change of the brand, as well as those restraining forces working against a change and advocating maintenance of the status quo. Comparative SWOT Analyses were also conducted to determine the most significant areas of weakness and luck, and to devise strategies aimed at maximising the strengths of both the Dominican subsidiary and the Group.An integral part of the change process baffling in the re-branding of Banco Mercantil, was the analysis of that banks corporate identity, the corporate identity of Republic Bank Limited and a comparison of the results of both tests. This analysis was undertaken using the ACID Test model devised by Harvard B usiness School professor joke Balmer. The test threw up some interesting, albeit not surprising facts, which influenced the decision to change the banks name, as well as the choice of name itself.1.5BenefitsRepublic Banks post-acquisition schema previously advocated retention of the proprietary brand of the acquired subsidiary, rather than retirement of the weaker brand following analysis, or even retirement of the acquired brand in privilege of the acquirer brand. This has resulted in the Bank carrying a diverse portfolio of corporate brands in the Caribbean, culminating in a somewhat confusing brand landscape, and little or no physical presence of its heritage or overarching brand outside of Trinidad and Tobago. While Republic Bank enjoys a strong corporate identity, high top of mind recall, strong citizenship recognition and a irresponsible corporate image in its primary market, Trinidad and Tobago, its diverse portfolio of brands causes its corporate brand to be lowly levera ged in the other Caribbean territories in which it operates.Its vision of being the bank of choice in the Caribbean could therefore be stymied by its brands low leverage and physical absence in the non-Trinidad and Tobago territories in which it operates. In those countries the heritage brand (Republic Bank) provides an endorsing role at best, and is essentially represented by the brands of its acquired subsidiaries. The brand proffer of each of the subsidiary banks also varies. The re-branding of the Group to achieve a strong, interrelated and consistent brand identity is of particular importance to Republic Bank at this time, as the Group seeks to buy a place in the minds and hearts of regional and global customers.This study therefore produces the framework required for such a mammoth re-branding and repositioning exercise and in so doing provides a model that may be customised and employed in future corporate marketing exercises.2.Background2.1The Republic Bank GroupRepublic B ank Limited is one of the oldest and most successful indigenous financial services groups in the slope-speaking Caribbean. Republic Bank evolved from the British bank, Barclays Bank rule Colonial and Overseas (DCO) and its predecessor Colonial Bank that was established in 1868 to provide banking services to the British expatriates involved in the islands sugar lather industry, and later to the freed slaves and indentured labourers.Today Republic Banks ownership is widely dust embracing over 10,000 individual and institutional shareholders. Republic Bank before long operates in eight Caribbean territories through 14 subsidiaries and offices in Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Dominican Republic, cayman Islands, St. Lucia, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago, and employs over 4,700 persons in the Caribbean.With an asset base of US$5 jillion (TT$28.6 billion) Republic Bank recorded after tax profits of US$105.4 million (TT$664 million) in its conk financial year (2003/2004). The Banks earnin gs per share in that year was TT$4.17 with spend on average assets of 2.44% and return on shareholders equity of 18.93%.The Republic Bank VisionRepublic Bank has identified the following visionRepublic Bank, The Bank of Choice in the Caribbean for Customers, Staff and Shareholders.We set the Standard of Excellence in Customer ecstasy, Employee Satisfaction and Shareholder Value2.3Expansion through Organic Growth and AcquisitionRepublic Bank has employed a strategy combining organic harvest-tide and strategic acquisition to quicken its regional expansion goals over the aside 13 years, as it sought to grow its asset base, increase market share and increase profitability. Its first such venture was the establishment of a joint venture merchant bank, Acedo Mendoza Fincor, with the Mendoza family of Venezuela. This operation soon extended to include an office in Panama but the Banks shareholding was eventually sold to the Mendoza family at the start of Venezuelas economic decline in the mid 1990s.That first move at overseas expansion was closely followed by the acquisition of the majority shareholding in the National Commercial Bank of Grenada Limited in 1992. This was followed concisely thereafter by the establishment of an offshore banking operation in the caiman Islands, the acquisitions of the Bank of profession in Trinidad and Tobago and the National Bank of Industry and Commerce Limited in Guyana, the establishment of an office in Havana, Cuba, and the acquisitions of Barbados National Bank in Barbados and Banco Mercantil in the Dominican Republic.Republic Banks largest and most profitable operation at this time is in the country of its home base, Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago bank only operates 44 banking branches in the twin island republic and employs 2,790 persons, over half of the entireness number of persons employed by the Group. The strongest economies in which Republic Bank currently operates continue to be Trinidad and Toba go and Barbados. The weakest economy at this time is the Dominican Republic in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, though it is showing signs of recovery, followed by Guyana in randomness the States.2.4The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its PartsRepublic Banks organically prominent subsidiaries all obligate the kindred corporate identity, which is Republic Bank. The acquired subsidiaries of NCB (Grenada), NBIC (Guyana), BNB (Barbados) and Banco Mercantil (Dominican Republic) all keep back their separate call and corporate identities, having retained their original brand names following acquisition.The first three banks, namely NCB in Grenada, NBIC in Guyana and BNB in Barbados, were all national banks in their respective countries, with Republic Bank buy all or part of the governments shareholdings. As the national banks, they catered largely to the basic and middle-income population and in some cases emerged from the era of nationalism and political scrape in the Caribbean d uring the 1970s. In the case of each acquisition there was some negative reaction from those nationals who viewed the transaction as a sales agreement of the countrys national heritage to an outsider. This sentimentwas strongly expressed during the initial stages of the BNB purchase, where the sale of the Barbados governments shareholding in BNB threatened to become a political issue, in hostility of the significant premium that was paid for the shares. That furore has since quelled, as the Barbadian public has been able to witness and experience the positive value that Republic Bank has brought to both BNB and to the financial sector in that country in the last year and a half.Given the history therefore, it is understandable that there would be strong feelings of national pride and patriotism attached to the identities i.e. proprietary brands of NCB, NBIC and BNB, oddly among the grassroots and the middle-income earners in the respective markets.It was for this principal reason strength of national pride and patriotism, and the resultant hap of customer migration and loss of business that Republic Bank demonstrated its initial reluctance to initiate name changes in the territories, post acquisition.Its post acquisition strategy had been to retain the existing management and employees, once competent, and to preserve the name and corporate identity of the bank, as a means of maintaining the goodwill and equity that were attached to the brand, and so prevent business loss. The Bank focused instead on aligning the systems and procedures of the acquired bank to those of Republic Bank, and providing the infrastructural, technological and intellectual support that would enable the ingathering and development of the acquired subsidiary, and, by extension the economy of the respective country. Little attention was placed on alignment of the corporate identities or of the introduction or promotion of the corporate identity of the parent company, Republic Bank Limited.This approach of working alongside the subsidiary, rather than implementing drastic changes, triggered little outward disruption to the immaterial environment, particularly customer relationships, and allowed the employees to focus gradually on the cultural shifts that were required to facilitate partial integration into the Republic Bank Group, while at the same time allowing them to retain their original identities.The impact of Republic Bank on those overseas subsidiaries has however been felt over time by customers, the oecumenic public and competitors in those markets, as the subsidiaries adopted a more aggressive and energetic stance in their operations, marketing and customer service, growing market share by as much as 10% in one year in the case of BNB. Customers were aware that these changes were the result of the new ownership of the bank and the deepening of the relationship with the parent company, Republic Bank, even though this link was seldom wildnessed i n external communication. The majority of customers appreciated the changes, since they impacted positively on the levels of energy evident in the banks, manifest in the quality of the service that they received, and the broadening array of product offers to which they were exposed.The subsidiaries themselves clearly recognised the value that their companionship with Republic Bank brought to bear on their banks success and customer interactions, particularly in the area of business facilitation. There is also a growing gratification in the association with a large, successful and powerful Caribbean bank, particularly at this time, when the business emphasis appears to be shifting increasingly toward integration and the benefits of larger size to get away with increased globalisation.2.5The Mood for Change-The Dominican RepublicThere is a positive mood for change in the Dominican Republic in relation to the re-branding of Banco Mercantil S.A., fuelled primarily by the countrys des perate economic situation and the virtual crinkle of the financial system. The government and galore(postnominal) Dominicans viewed as a welcome move, Republic Banks entry into the Dominican financial sector through its acquisition of Banco Mercantil in 2003.It must be remembered that in the midst of Republic Banks entry, was the failure of several other commercial banks, principally due to rampant fraud and misdirection facilitated by closed ownership the majority of businesses in the Dominican Republic, including the major banks are owned by a few wealthy families and a culture that appears to embrace less stringent ethical standards than those embraced by many countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. The Latin culture in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, is not as supportive of intense structures and systems as is the English culture. Hence the presence of strong systems to support business and demand strong ethical practice was almost absent in the Domin ican Republic. depravity was therefore rife. Additionally, the Latin cultures focus on external appearances as an index finger of success and well-being, also belies the true financial status of organisations and little hear is made to delve sufficiently deep to ascertain the reality. A thorough understanding of the divergence in the cultures of the Caribbean was therefore critical to the formulation and execution of an effective communications programme during the change process i.e. movement from Banco Mercantil to Republic Bank DR.Given the negative experiences of the immediate past, the employees and customers of Banco Mercantil were anxious for the presence of a professional organization with wide and diffused ownership, that would introduce systems and procedures to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, high levels of professionalism and business continuity. The regulators and employees alike were also determined to prevent a browse on the bank and the consequential loss of j obs, while retaining and growing their existing customer base. Republic Banks good reputation as a plump and professional financial services provider in Trinidad and Tobago preceded it, and the Bank was well respected by the regulators, the small cadre of business and financial officials in the DR who knew of it, as well as by the employees who did their personal research on the Bank and its history and reputation.2.6The Mood for Change -The Southern Eastern CaribbeanThe mood for change in the Southern and Eastern Caribbean is less enthusiastic than it is in the Dominican Republic. A survey conducted by NCB Grenada early in 2005 to test the banks corporate image revealed positive sentiments toward Republic Banks influence on the efficiency and general good performance of NCB, and mixed reactions to the possibility of a re-branding of the subsidiary. The key reason for this reluctance was the strong feeling of national pride and patriotism that continues to exist in the islands, f or the reasons indicated earlier in this section. The reasons are more delirious than logical, and therefore more challenging to overcome, as branding is built to a greater extent on emotion and feelings, than it is on logic and reason. In spite of the strength of these sentiments however, there appears to be a listening to the possibility of change, as the Grenada survey indicated. A listening that Republic Bank should come along as it contemplates a regional re-branding of the group.2.7The Environmental Landscape in the Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a Spanish speaking country in the Northern Caribbean bordered by the Caribbean Sea, the North Atlantic maritime and Haiti. With a population of 8.8 million people, the Dominican economy has had one of the immediate ripening rates in the hemisphere over the past decade. The country enjoyed growth in Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) of more than 7% pre annum between 1998-2000.Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the glo bal economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economys largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The Dominican Republic suffers from attach income inequality the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud and limited growth in the US economy, the source of 87% of export revenues. The inflation rate based on 2003 national statistics is 27.5%, with unemployment being 16.5% and 25% of the population animated below the poverty line.Predominantly Roman Catholic, the ethnic write up of the Dominican Republic differs from that of Trinidad and Tobago, with persons of mixed ethnicity comprising 73% of the population, whites 16% and blacks 11%. This ethnic composition was co nsidered when formulating communication material related to advertising on the re-branding of Banco Mercantil. It will also be considered in the future in the production of standard external communication material such as mass media advertising for the Group.3.Statement of hazardGiven Republic Banks stated vision of being the Bank of Choice in the Caribbean, the onset of globalisation which has opened up hitherto unassailable markets, the imminent commencement of the CSME and FTAA which would open up the Caribbean to large, powerful and influential business competitors, coupled with the aggressive stance of competitive forces within the Caribbean itself, there is an opportunity at this time for Republic Bank to reposition and re-brand its regional subsidiaries, starting line with Banco Mercantil, its subsidiary in the Dominican Republic.4.Theoretical PerspectivesThis study embraces several theoretic concepts in bringing about the re-branding and repositioning of the Republic Bank Group and more specifically the re-branding of its Dominican Republic subsidiary, Banco Mercantil. The study utilises a number of theories in change management, strategic business planning and corporate identity analysis in orchestrating the required change.4.1ACID TestIn analysing the corporate identities of Republic Bank Limited and Banco Mercantil the ACID Test devised by Harvard Business School Professor, John Balmer was used extensively. The ACID Test is a model used to give ear companies in evaluating and understanding their corporate identities, to identify deficiencies and misalignments often arising from, but not limited to mergers and acquisitions, and to form the basis for realignment or correction of the misaligned corporate identities.The dosage test is a model used to assist companies in evaluating and understanding identify deficienciesThe test acknowledges that every organisation has more than one identity, and categorises these into 5 specific areas that help to shape the overall identity and eventually the image of the organisation. These identities areACTUAL IDENTITY this comprises the current, distinct attributes of the company i.e. what it does.COMMUNICATED IDENTITY what does the company communicate via Advertising, Public Relations, and Sponsorships?CONCEIVED IDENTITY Stakeholder Perceptions corporate image reputation how does the company appear to stakeholders?IDEAL IDENTITY Optimum Positioning based on current knowledge of the companys capabilities.DESIRED IDENTITY -Corporate vision from the perspective of the chief operating officer and the Board of Directors.The ACID Test was employed to evaluate and analyse the corporate identities of Republic Bank and Banco Mercantil in consolidating and guiding the process of changing the Banco Mercantil name and the adoption of the overarching brand, Republic Bank.4.2Structures Influence on Corporate IdentityIn identifying a link or relationship between organisational structure/power st ructure and corporate identity, the work of Olins, Ind and Kammerer were explored and applied. Olins identified three basic types of visual computer architecture used by organisations namely,the monol

Brand Equity of HP Laptops

spot Equity of HP Lap travel bys portalAs the lifestyle is changing, needs of people argon changing and hence(prenominal)(prenominal)ce from more than engineering science pr ane to advancement in electronic devices usage. great deal want faster paced life, leading to endless dreams to be fulfilled. Desire to do bodgewise excellence in all departments of life makes life more evoke and increases the positive vibrance. Belonging to this information applied science era, life with show up(a) lap authorize computer computers is unimagin make up to(p).Laptop gross sales in India be at an all time high, due to the outgrowth of a new breed of technology conscious IT users. in that location has been a drastic shift in working environments coupled with a lifestyle which is of all time on the move. Besides the work- link market, various new(prenominal) segments be capitalizing on these handy takeout computers. A large key out of households and students are apply the se por tabularize PCs for entertainment and study roles respectively.Industry BackgroundLaptops are popularly used in India more for their portability rather than mobility. Portability has become the progeny one reckon as to wherefore more Indians are buying these port open PCs. The laptop market in 2009 saw a signifi faecest growth. Seen as just the right size to determine on someones lap, laptops are taking the Indian market by storm and are certainly loose desktop computers a run for their money. The laptop market in India record sales of 7.7 lakh units, growing at 13% in the inaugural half of 2009-10.The major players in the Indian market are HP, Compaq, dell, Lenovo, apple and Acer. Quarterly nonebook PC shipment and forecast report say that 31 million units were shipped in the offshoot quarter of 2009, noting that the notebook PC market shrank 6% on quarter, however increased 35% on year during the period. HP remained in the lead for s rase consecutive living quar ters with a shipment around deuce million units over number ii Dell in the first quarter of 2009-10. HPs market divide was over 20% for six consecutive quarters.The most popular add-in size and steadiness was still 15.4-inch with a resolution of 1280-800, which accounted for around 50% of all notebook PCs shipped in the quarter, composition the 14.1-inch segment with a 1280-800 resolution trailed nooky with a 22% share. The general causes that people look for while making a decision on the laptop are treat Speed of LaptopsThe laptops processing speed depends on the usage. Consumers generally go for Intel onus Duo processors or Athlon. If the requirement is a high end laptop, then consumers bottom opt for Core 2 Duo or tetrad Core processors.Operating SystemAt present Windows Vista is the operate system in the laptop market. Recently Windows 7 has been launched and laptop vendors are slowly shifting to the latest operating system. different Operating Systems want Linux back be got on request.ScreenScreen size is ordinarily 14.1 or 15.4. But consumers are going for bigger screen sizes as well. The 17 laptop sales realise increased in the recent months, but still is not truly high.Hard Drives160 GB exhausting criminal records is the usual attachment in most of the laptops.These are the features which one should parcel out before buying laptops. Searching laptops in Indian market exit be prospering as all the information is avail fitting online. high society BackgroundHP is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. They explore how technology and military services can supporter people and companies address their problems and challenges, and realize their possibilities, aspirations and dreams. HP applies new thinking and ideas to pull in more simple, valuable and trusted get a lines with technology, continuously improving the way our clients raging and work.No other company offers as complete a tec hnology dawnroad portfolio as HP. They provide infrastructure and business offerings that span from hand-held devices to some of the worlds most powerful supercomputer installations. They offer consumers a wide rank of harvest-homes and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to legal residence printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps them match the right crossroads, services and solutions to their customers specific needs.HP India, open in the year 1988, holds the distinction of being one of the first technology companies to set up a base in India. HP in India is one of the largest and most diverse sites for HP outside of the US. HP started its India parcel system Operations (ISO) in 1989 at Bangalore to deliver enterprise parcel solutions, harvest-feast and RD services to HP customers worldwide. Over the past year, HPs presence and product portfolio has spread out to mirror almost every activity the company to a lower placeta kes, be it software engineering, IT services, RD, BPOs among others. HP India became a billion dollar company in 2005 and continues to lucubrate its presence.HP is the leader in the laptop market in India. HP laptops feature powerful performance and attractive designs and this is the reason they are the number 1 selling chump in India.Need for the StudyThere are a lot of new cross outs of laptops available in the market. more international players are entering the Indian market to try and go a chunk of this huge market. We would like ascertain whether HP fire grass, which is before long doing well, will continue to do well in the future too or does it need to change any of its approach with respect to its grunge performance. This project is restricted to the check off honor altogether.Objectives of the StudyTo measure target equity of HP laptopsConceptual Framework pit Equitystigma equity refers to the market effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its pu t up see compared with those that would accrue if the comparable product did not confuse the differentiate public figure. And, at the root of these merchandising effects is consumers sack outledge. In other playscripts, consumers knowledge well-nigh a gull makes manufacturers/advertisers respond differently or adopt appropriately adept measures for the marketing of the distinguish. The study of stigma equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers prolong reason that chumps are one of the most valuable assets that a company has. Brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial look upon of a pit to the carry owner, although not the only one. Brand equity is metric as a combination of the adjacent five factorsBrand kenBrand LoyaltyPerceived QualityBrand AssociationOther patented AssetsBrand sentiencyBrand knowingness is a marketing concept that measures consumers knowledge of a brands existence. At the aggregate (brand) level, it re fers to the proportion of consumers who know of the brand. It can measured use the following measuresAided Recall either the brand name or both the brand name and year name are presented to responsives. unassisted Recall The product category name is stipulation to respondents who are asked to recollect as legion(predicate) brands as feasible that are members of the category. authorize of Mind Recall The first brand that comes to the headspring of customers is recorded.Brand LoyaltyBrand loyalty consists of a consumers commitment to purchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. The various measures for calculating brand loyalty are sack CostLikingSatisfactionWaiting TimeShopping trendWillingness to Bear Additional CostPerceived QualityPerceived smell is defined as the customers apprehension of the overall whole tone or superiority of a produ ct or service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. We put one across measured the perceived quality of the overall brand under(a) the following measures carrying out shoot a linesConformance with Specifications dependablenessDurability adapted and FinishServiceabilityBrand AssociationA key to mental synthesis brand is to strengthen the experiences. A brand association is anything, i.e. a word, a picture, a person, etc. related to a brand. The association not only exists but also has strength, uniqueness to the brand and favorability in the minds of the consumers.Other Proprietary AssetsThe three most grand copyrighted assets are cook logotypeSloganMethodologySample SizeWe necessitate taken a sample size of 15 respondents. It consisted of 12 males and 3 females of varying ages, across the country.Data Collection analysis MethodsThe following tools were used to collect informationFocus group discussions (FGDs)QuestionnairesData Analysis ToolsSPSS 16 .0 for Windows, MS ExcelBrand AwarenessBrand Awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognised by potential customers, and is correctly associated with a especial(a) product. It is usually convey as a percent of fag market. Brand sentience is the basal goal of advertising. Brand awareness conveys the intensity of knowledge and understanding that a consumer has about a product or brand. This is usually measured finished the three measures screen of Mind Recall, Unaided Recall Aided Recall.Unaided recall Top of Mind RecallUnaided Recall is a market research technique used to test the posture of brands, advertisements and commercials in which respondents are asked certain questions to learn whether they are familiar with a particular company, brand, guide word, product or service. In our survey the respondent was asked to mention the label of laptops they know or have heard about. pop of the unaided recalled brands, the first brand that the respondent mentions is the top of mind recall. Top of mind awareness is there when people can easily recall a brands name. Top of mind reacall usually is associated with the brand being in the short call memory. Top of mind awareness is very desirable in target prospects who are likely to buy because it is when they are considering buying an item you real want them to remember a particular brand.The responses obtained are indicated in the elude below. In the calculations for the brand equity check off, top of mind being an master(prenominal) parameter was disposed(p) 100 points. To calculate the top of mind micturate for a particular brand, the percentage of people who mentioned the particular brand in their top of mind recall was calculated out of total respondents. therefore HP laptops got a s nub of 47 or 47% which is 7 as a percentage of 15.The upper limit malt whiskey for unaided recall was fixed at 70. The brand with the highest frequency was given a history of 70 and the brands that followed were given relieve oneselfs of 60 50 all(prenominal). commentaryOut of 15 respondents, HP brand had the highest top of mind recall, followed by Compaq, Lenovo Dell, which had mates responses. This exposes that the investments by HP in their advertisement / marketing communications have been relatively effective. But still considering that only 47% respondents recollected HP from the top of mind, HP should consider investing more in their advertisement campaigns. Top of Mind recall happens with higher repetitions and exposure to advertisements. Advertisements emphasizing the brand HP have to be repeated. This will also help because HP has a wide product assortment.In racing shell of unaided recall, HP Dell were leading with very high signs, followed by Compaq, Lenovo and Toshiba. This shows that people know these brands as laptop brands.The objective of this measurement is to measure the extent to which respondents rememberedthe brand when the essential brand name is promp ted. A list of laptop brands was given to the respondent and they were asked to select the brands they were aware of. We deliberately included a couple of brands which did not have laptops. Surprisingly people who selected these brands were very less and there seems to be a very high level of awareness about laptop brands. The response obtained is indicated in the table alongside.InterpretationHP, Dell, Compaq Lenovo had 100% awareness or all respondents who participated in the survey were aware about these brands as a laptop brand. Aided awareness was workd out of 50 and the brands with maximum awareness were given a differentiate of 50, second best as 40 etc. We do not need to do anything on this count to increase awareness about HP as a laptop brand.2. Brand loyaltyBrand loyalty of the customer is often the core of a brands equity. It reflects how likely a customer will be able to switch to another brand. Brand loyalty is closely tied to experience and is different from other major dimensions of brand equity. The following grievances were obtained by the brands against the four factors associated with Loyalty.Cross Tabs The cross tabulation was done to see how many people from the group of 15 conform to various parameters. The various cross tabulation are shown as underPreferredBrand * PurchasedBrandThe first cross tabulation was done to happen upon out number of people among the group who have purchased the brand which they prefered. So the cross tabulation was done between the prefered brand and the purchased brand. The results of the like are shown below.The to a higher place table and the graph below show that only 2 people have purchased HP out of the 6 people who prefered the brand HP, for Compaq it was 2 out of 2 and none for Compaq.RecommendBrand * PurchasedBrandThis cross tabulation was done to see how many people would recommend the brand who have purchased the brand.The table shows 60 % people who have purchased the Compaq would recomme nd the brand to people, 100% who have purchased the HP would recommend HP and 80% who have purchased the Lenovo would recommend Lenovo.Perceived qualityPerceived quality is defined as the customers cognition of the overall quality or the superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. It is also a measure of goodness that spreads over all elements of the brand. It is elevated to the positioning of the brand asset is helps business to gain financial advantage and gives a strategic thrust which in turn drives how the other aspects of brand is looked.We conducted twain focussed group discussions (FGD) to find out the factors which customers perceive as Copernican for accessing the quality of the laptops. The FGDs resulted in 9 factors which were then cross verified with secondary research study. Three factors Battery Life and Time to dart had to be removed because of the lack of the suitability in harm of quality image. The res t six factors were taken into account while deciding the perception of the quality of the laptops.Thus, the s level factors used for assessing the perceived quality for calculating the last brand equity score are executingFeaturesConformance to judicial admissionsReliabilityDurabilityFit and finishServiceabilityThe users of the brands HP, Lenovo and Compaq were asked to rate the above attributes on a scale of 1 to 10 (10-Excellent, 1-Poor). In the following description of the different factors, the aggregate score is the sum of the score given by all the 15 respondents and the average reflects the aggregate score divided by the number of respondents (15 in our case). The maximum points allotted to each of the factors is100. So the score of each of the factors is then calculated based on the average score.PerformanceThe performance of the laptops is an important factor as it is critical for the overall perception of the customer in terms of quality of the laptop. The performance is compared across the brands having the same features so that there is no bias and the comparison in not done for twain extremely different series laptops.As it came out in FGDs, this is also related to how the laptop performs like no crash, no hangs, smooth operation and other similar sub attributes.The performance score of the three brands is shown in the table belowHP scores highest with an average score of 8 followed by Lenovo with 6.93 and Compaq at last with a score of 6.87.InterpretationThe customers have a favourable perception for HP in terms of performance of the laptops. The Lenovo and Compaq are close together with almost same perception for performance. The HP laptops outscore both of the other brands by almost 10 points. The same perception had also been received in the FGDs and so there is no difference of perceptions between the surveys and FGDs.FeaturesThe customers today look for the customization and so crave for the number of features available for the differen t laptops. The range of features and the depth under each theatrical role become important now because they affect the customer perception for the quality and affect the buying favourability for a brand.HP again scored highest in this category with an average score of 8.27 followed by Compaq with an average of 7 and at last Lenovo with a score of 6.8.InterpretationThe customers opinion that the feature loaded laptops are of good quality and as most of the HP laptops are feature loaded, they are rated higher in terms of the features. The Lenovo and Compaq laptops come with some standard specifications which mostly are basic ones. Though they can be customised as per needs but the number of options available for different components (depth) are still limited. This doesnt go favourable with the customers and it is reflected in the score given by them to Lenovo and Compaq laptops as compared to HP which scores higher.Conformance to SpecificationsCustomers choose the features and speci fication to get the laptops which conform to them and perform accordingly. So conformance to the specifications becomes an important factor here. The table below shows the score obtained by the three brands on this parameter.HP stands at top with an average of 7.73 followed by Lenovo at 6.93 and then Compaq with 6.8.InterpretationHP has a favourable impression in the minds of the customers as they feel that HP conforms to the specifications and this makes them give it the highest score. The other brands of laptops are not far behind which shows that there is not much different in the perception of these brands as far as the conformance to the specifications is concerned. All three adhere to the specifications and even the fact that HP has highest score cant be considered as a great differentiator in terms of perceived quality.Reliability add upThe perception about reliability of a product directly contributes to the brand equity for a mobile device like laptop which is use for mul tiple uses. The surveys FGDs we conducted indicated how reliability as an important component of perceived quality. Respondents treasured their laptops for mobile needs, especially students for project works executives who had to do presentations on the go. more(prenominal) than anything, reliability was connected to loss of data due to laptop related malfunctioningwhich could never be compensated.The reliability scores obtained by the brands are indicated in the table above. Each respondent was asked to rate the three laptop brands on their perception about reliability of the brand. The final reliability score was embed by aggregating the scores given by all respondents and then finding the average.InterpretationThe results indicated that HP Lenovo scored 75 out of 100 for reliability, followed by Compaq with a score of 66. This is inline with the both brands various marketing communications that accentuate on reliability. Lenovo the erstwhile IBM Thinkpad always portrayed a sturdy image, with protections even against accidental drops and first of its kind features like locking hard disk during a fall. HP also proposes its high reliability through marketing communications. Compaq, a value brand from the HP stalls is perceived to be less reliable compared to the parent brand HP.The perception about durability of a product directly contributes to the brand equity especially when it is an dear(predicate) to own item like a laptop. Our survey told that a public customer tends to consider using a laptop for at least(prenominal) 3 4 years and minimise the cost on the equipment. Also the FGDs indicated that laptops are very dear(predicate) to maintain and replacements of parts are a very expensive business. Thus durability was used as an element to compute brand equity score.The brand scores on the parameter durability was again calculated by aggregating scores given by individual respondents on perceived durability of the three brands. The average wa s be and a percentage of the maximum score of 10 was found to provide the brands score on durability.InterpretationThe table indicates that HP Lenovo are perceived to be of well the same durability (Lenovo a little more). But Compaq lags intemperately in the perception about durability. This could be due to the positioning of HP Lenovo as premium brands, while Compaq is always positioned as a low wrong, value based product. Another inference we may take from this could be that footing and premiumness can cause a difference in perception of quality in the minds of customers. A customer may be ready to indemnify more for a product considering that durability is directly related to the price of the product.In the FGDs conducted, we got views that the laptop a person carries communicates a lot about his individual(prenominal)ity. Hence the fit finish is given a lot of importance during laptop purchases. We had included fit finish as a component of perceived quality and gave e qual importance to this parameter with a maximum score of 100 associated to it.The above table indicates the scores obtained by the brands for fit finish parameter. The respondents were asked to rate the three laptops on a maximum score of 10 points. The aggregate score was calculated and average was obtained for the 15 respondents. This was then transformed to a score of maximum score of 100.InterpretationIt was found that HP had the highest score on the parameter fit finish. HP laptops have always been famous for their stylish designs, and designer exteriors. HP frequently comes up with limited editions, with specially designed exteriors, giving rich look to the laptop. Compaq was rated as the next best. Compaq, being a product targeted at the value segment, has always designed its laptop in a simple and elegant path in contrast to the bold and stylish designs of HP.We can see that Lenovo lags heavily in this parameter. Lenovo retained the original IBM Thinkpad designs. Lenovo gives lesser importance to external visual appeal focussing more on ergonomics, robustness and reliability. This was also indicated in the FGDs where Lenovo laptops were criticised for the dull exteriors. Most respondents admitted they were not satisfied with the looks and they modified the looks by applying laptop skins available in the market.Serviceability refers to the ability of technical support force play to install, configure, and monitor laptop products, identify exceptions or faults, debug or set apart faults to perform root cause analysis, and provide hardware or software forethought in pursuit of solving a problem and restoring the product into service. Incorporating usableness facilitating features typically results in more efficient product maintenance and increases value for the brand in the minds of the customer. During the FGDs, many participants shared the various faults that their laptops had generated and how easy or difficult they found it to get it serviced at an authorized union. The following table lists the scores for serviceability for the different laptop brands out of a maximum of 100.The respondents were asked to rate the three laptops on a maximum score of 10 points. The aggregate score was calculated and average was obtained for the 15 respondents. This was then transformed to a score of maximum score of 100.InterpretationHP was rated the best serviceable laptop followed by Compaq and Lenovo. HP service centres or HP-authorized service centres are available all over India. Therefore customers find it very easy to simply carry their laptops to the nearest service centre and get it serviced. Compaq laptops are also serviced by HP service centres. Since scoop Compaq service centres are not widespread, people still perceive that the serviceability is not very high for Compaq, while in reality it should equal that of HP.Lenovo has mainly authorised service centres and its not as widespread as compared to the other two brands. Th erefore, it has got a low score for serviceability. Having exclusive Lenovo service centers in all major cities in India may help in improving the perception of the customers.Brand AssociationThe FGDs were conducted to get the exhaustive list of the possible associations for the three brands- HP, Lenovo and Compaq. The associations were then used in the questionnaire to select the top two associations from the respondents for each of the three brands. The surveyed people were then asked to rate (5-highest, 1-lowest) the two associations selected by them. The tables below show the scores obtained by each of the associations under different categories. The top two associations were then converted into the score for the three parameters- Strength of Association, Favourability and Attitude.The Business and the Performance came out to be the top two associations with the HP laptops. When converted to score it comes out to be as followsThe brand laurels association for HP is also seen as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan who justifies the Business and Performance score too.The animal association for the brand HP also comes out to be Tiger and Lion in equal numbers of 4 each. So the animal association for HP is the Big Cat Family Animals. This can be because the people relate these animals for the performance and focussed attitude like in business.The Tough/Robust and Features came out to be the top two associations with the Lenovo laptops. When converted to score it comes out to be as followsThe brand reputation association for Lenovo is also seen as Mr. Saif Ali Khan who justifies the Tough/ Robust and Feature rich image of the brand Lenovo. This association may be because he is also a brand ambassador for Lenovo.The animal association for the brand Lenovo is Dog as seen from the responses of the people who responded to the survey. Six people out of 15 said Dog as the animal which should be associated with the Lenovo laptops. This brings out the features of the laptop which s hows they are trustworthy, robust and extremely rich in features.The brand celebrity association for Compaq is seen as Mr. Shahrukh Khan who justifies the Affordability and Service image of the brand Compaq. This association may be because he is also a brand ambassador for Compaq.The animal association of Compaq comes out to be Cat which sort of justifies the affordability part.5.Other proprietary AssetsThe three proprietary assets studied in this survey were Name, Logo Slogan. This was important as any marketing communication will be using the three assets and the impact these makes will determine the brand equity and hence the consumption of a brand. The respondents were asked to rate the three brands for the three assets on the soil of the three factors Attractiveness, Effectiveness, UniquenessFor example, the respondent was asked about how attractive, effective and unique the name of HP laptop is, followed by the logo and slogan of HP. The scores for each factor was calculat ed by finding the aggregate score given by all the respondents and then the average. The final score of each brand against each of the assets were found by multiplying the score of the asset against the three factors.NameIt was found that name HP had a very high score in all the three dimensions and has the highest score of 49 among the three brands. Compaq follows HP and the name Lenovo was found to have scored the least and was found to score the least among the three brands in each of the dimensions except uniqueness, where it stands second.InterpretationThe name of HP was found to score an average of 7.8 out of 10 for uniqueness, 8 for effectiveness and 7.8 for attractiveness. This indicates that the name HP is contributing to the brand equity. But in the case of Lenovo, we see that the name scores very low in terms of attractiveness and effectiveness. Such brands may consider re-launching products under different brand names or a brand like Lenovo can for brand extensions with more attractive names2. SLOGANThe above table indicates the ratings for slogan of the three brands on the dimensions of attractiveness, effectiveness and uniqueness. The slogans were given to the respondents namely HP Laptops are Personal Again, Compaq Inspiration Technology, Lenovo New World. New ThinkingInterpretationWe can observe that HP scores highest for slogan, followed by Lenovo and Compaq. Though the slogan for HP scores highest relatively, the score seems to be low. This could be because the respondents are not able to relate the slogan to the product or because they are not able to associate it with themselves. This could be because HP used this slogan initially for desktops when it came up with the slogan Computers are personal again. But laptops are always personal equipments for self usage and saying Laptops are Personal Again does not make any more impact.Looking at the other two brands, Lenovo and Compaq lag heavily and needs considerable improvement in their slo gan. This could even be due to lack of sufficient exposure of the slogan to customers or again inability of the customers to relate slogan with themselves or the product.3. LoGoThe above table indicates the ratings for logo of the three brands on the three dimensions. The respondents were shown the different give-and-take of the three brands and asked them to rate them against attractiveness, effectiveness uniqueness.As we can see, HP scored the highest for the logo, followed by Compaq and Lenovo.InterpretationHP has a very high score for brand logo, with very high score in each of the dimensions Attractiveness, effectiveness and uniqueness. Compaq follows and Lenovo was found to lag heavily in this dimension tooThe above table indicates the brand equity score of the three brands. We can find that the brand under study HP has scored the highest score of 1405 out of 1920. It clearly indicates why HP is the market leader in this range of laptops. Compaq from the HP stable is the sec ond valued brand. We have seen the brands under the individual dimensions in the forward sections.We can see that HP leads the other brands in every dimension. The strategies pick out so far has been satisfactory.Suggestions for further ImprovementImproving Brand AwarenessFrom the brand equity table, we can see that HP scores replete(p) against unaided recall aided recall.