The Standards of Professionals

While reflecting on the moral questions posed by the statement ‘when a reporter makes a mistake in a magazine article, you can run a correction; but when a health care worker makes a mistake, someone can die’, it is relevant to delve into the idea that some professionals should be held to a higher standard than others. This is not a correct ideology in assuming that morality is more important at any one time or place or by one person over another.Just as the previous reflection on morality revealed the importance of individual sovereignty, the application of this should be noted in that this is the only universal ethic that can and should be placed on all individuals. The strength of this position of moral sovereignty is that each person has a humanistic right and responsibility to follow their ethical reasoning without outside interference. A health care worker is morally responsible for caring for patients in a competent way, but a reporter is just as much affected, if not more so, by individual decision making.Reporters may feel threatened by superiors to report inaccurate news and in doing so this could have intense ramifications for dispensing disinformation. This can lead to character assassination for a political candidate, as one example. The disadvantages of looking at this model, is that as stated previously, the responsibility of a reporter can be held to a higher degree of standards, due to the fact that health care workers are not coerced into saving lives, they simply must. In contrast, reporters must weigh in their journalistic pieces on outside influence, such as their superiors and their audience.Individual sovereignty is still a standard that can be used universally, as the true illustration of a moral and rational actor is the ethical actions taken without influence or coercion in any profession. This means thinking and acting individually with only the altruistic motives of those around this actor in mind. As well, individuals i n all professions can reap the benefits of their right to sovereignty and successful actions while the price to pay, individually, is the effects of their errors. References Joseph Joel., (2003) Business Ethics: An Introduction. New York, Blackwell Publishers.

Gender Schema Theory Essay

Martin and Halverson suggested an alternative to the cognitive-developmental approach proposed by Kohlberg and called it the gender schema theory. In Kohlberg’s theory, children must reach gender consistency before they are able to begin imitating the behaviour of same sex role models. In gender schema theory the early gender identity acquired at about the age of three is the starting point to which children will then begin to look for schemas, schemas are packages of organised clutters of information about gender-appropriate behaviour and children learn these schemas by interacting with people, such as learning which toys to play with, which clothes to wear etc. and these help children to make sense of the world around them and help children to organise their experiences and process new information and also to help self-evaluate themselves, this is to help them feel good about themselves. Support for the gender schema theory was conducted by Martin et al 1995 who showed toys to children aged four to five. Children were informed, before choosing a toy to play with that it was either a girls toy or a boys toy, they were then asked whether they and other boys or girls would like to play with the toys. They found that if a toy, such as a magnet, was given the label of being a boys toy then only boys would play with it. However if boys were told that it was a girl toy then they didn’t want to play with it. Similarly girls would not play with toys labelled for boys. The label given at the start consistently affected the children’s toy preference. It is an important finding in that it highlights the labelling and the categorisation of objects that children are subjected to from a young age, and how their toys can be labelled in the same way as appropriate gender behaviour. A limitation of this research is that an observation of the children and although it has high ecological validity as it is in a real life setting, the children may have shown demand characteristics as the toys were stereotyped for their gender it is questionable if they had guessed the aim of the research and the results may have been due to the children trying to please the researcher as they may have thought they would get punished for choosing the wrong gendered toy to play with and how much of the children’s choice was due to free-will. It was also done in a controlled environment which means that the findings cannot be generalised outside of the research setting. Bauer 1993 wanted to investigate this further and set out to study the way in which children call upon gender schemas when processing information. Pre-school-age and older children have been found to process gender consistent and gender inconsistent information differently so Bauer wanted to see if this was the case in very young children as well. Bauer devised a way to test girls and boys as young as twenty-five months of age. Children observed the experimenter carry out short sequences of stereotypically female, male or gender neutral activities, for example, changing a nappy, shaving a teddy bear or going on a treasure hunt. She tested children by ‘elicited imitation’ both immediately after and 24 hours later to see if they would copy what they had seen. Bauer found that girls showed equivalent quality of recall for all three types of sequence, boys on the other hand showed superior recall of male stereotyped activities, meaning they would not imitate any female behaviour and their recall for gender neutral activities was the same as for male stereotyped activities. These results indicate that boys more than girls tend to make use of gender schemas by the age of twenty-five months and boys appear to remember more accurately event sequences consistent with their own gender, whereas girls show no difference in recall of gender consistent and gender inconsistent information. A limitation of this research is that it could be due to boys being more likely to be penalised by their parents, especially their fathers for carrying out female stereotyped activities, so the children may have played with the male stereotyped toys even if they wanted to play with the other female stereotyped toys. The findings may also be down to that Bauer, who modelled the sequences, is female and the boys may have felt uncomfortable in copying her behaviour. Gender schema theory is parsimonious as it tries to explain gender through cognitive development and does not take into consideration biological gender differences, such as chromosomes, genes or hormones. It is also alpha-bias as it exaggerates the differences between men and women.

My Last Duchess and La Belle Dame Sans Merci Comparison Essay

My Last Duchess and La Belle Dame Sans Merci are two poems that explore a wide range of power dynamics that result from love. Patriarchal power is a key theme that is explored in these two poems, with conflicting views on each. La Belle Dame sans Merci tells of a sorry tale of how a knight, a typically powerful figure, is cast away by a woman who had no love for him. This theme is almost mirrored in the other poem; however the other poem, My Last Duchess seems to exert a more male perspective, focusing more on patriarchal power. A women to Her Lover, seems to be a blend of the two poetic styles of the previous two poems, as it both states the various patriarchal powers, and then proceeds to tear down these beliefs, and also tear down the conventions which were typically seen as the norm of the day. The title of the poem is typically an indicator of what to expect from the poem, and in what vein it will be written. My Last Duchess is no exception as it immediately gives the reader a sense that the narrator, The Duke, see’s his late wife as a possession. He refers to her with the possessive pronoun ‘My’ to try, it appears; to regain a certain degree of control over her. This wanting of control is further explored when he says that ‘The curtain I have drawn for you,’ which portrays the sense that he feels he is the one who is giving others the right to see his wife. During the Renaissance (a period which Browning based his characters society as) was a time that was largely seen as patriarchal, and so the duke would typically want to conform to this norm. Furthermore, it may be this possessiveness that leads to his jealousy when she is seen as accepting a ‘bough of cherries’ from someone who he regarded as an ‘officious fool’. He also felt that she had a heart which was ‘too soon made glad’ and that it wasn’t only her ‘husband’s presence’ that she appeared to crave. These lines seem to be the Duke commenting on how her rather flirtatious and outgoing nature, not typical of women in that period, displeased him greatly. Furthermore, it seemed that he wanted her to end this affiliation with the other people, and this gave rise to the suspicion that he killed her, to end the constant barrage of seeming embarrassment and discomfort from his wife’s various exploits. In those days there were always certain classed that would always be prejudiced against. Therefore, this incidence could have been regarded as his wife trying to exert some egalitarian power, by making the ‘officious fool’ feel like an equal, and also by riding round on a ‘white mule’, something which was often seen as a past time of the poor, as they could not afford to buy a proper horse. This form of power did not seem to go down well within the constraints of the love relationship. The duke seemed particularly afraid of this form of power as he proceeded to mention the fact that he thought that she felt that she ‘ranked’ his ‘nine-hundred year old name’ with anyone’s ‘gift’. This shows that he feels that the social classes should stand as they are. This is quite ironic, as this is set in the Renaissance period where it was said that people were becoming more scientific and were ready to embrace new ideas. Thi s is at odds with what actually happens in the poem, with the man defecting to the typical view of women being ‘slaves’ to the men, but during a very socially obligated period. As well as this, the poem also manages to explore the power of love itself. This is shown with the infatuation of the widowed husband over the picture, as is demonstrated when the Duke believe that there is ‘depth’ in the painting, and that the women portrayed in the painting still holds some ‘passion’ for him. This could either be the power of the love, or, in fact, the power of the painting. This could, however, represent the actual mentality of the Duke, as he falls in ‘love’ with a painting of a woman who is deceased. This displays the underlying power of the love that had blossomed between these two individuals, and how the power of the painting was so influential that up to this point (in the poem), he still feels the attraction of the painting. However, this is at odds with what he says later on in the poem, written using enjambment to make it a more conversational style, when he talks about how he ‘tamed’ her, and rather uncharacteristically he uses a metaphor, perhaps to inject some frivolity into the proceeding so as to avert any fear of being caught. However, he also mention ‘I gave commands’, perhaps referring to getting her killed, and then he goes on to say that ‘all smiles stopped together’. This form of power could also be regarded as patriarchal power or perhaps more accurately as sheer male strength over the opposite gender. The poetic techniques used are also pivotal to understanding what types of power are being explored. A key feature used in the poem is the iambic pentameter, which is a meter typically associated with a more male poem, due to the stressed single syllable at the end of a line. This is often attributed to the fiercer and fierier poems, which are to be said with an earnest, thus it being seen as a more masculine form of rhyme. As well as this enjambment is used, meaning that all of the lines follow on from each other, giving the poem a more conversational tone. This is quite odd, as the Duke himself comes across as a very contrite kind of person, but this could be due to the Duke trying to appear more powerful in his own home, or estate, meaning hierarchal power is something that is quite high up on his agenda, probably because he feels that hierarchal power is the only way he could have got this relationship. Overall, this poem is mainly based on patriarchal power, and despite the fact that it does include a few instances of other forms of power, such as egalitarian power, patriarchal power seems to take an overbearing role. It is written from the perspective of someone very high up on the social ladder, and thus would include references to this form of power, inherited, or hierarchal power. La Belle Dame sans Merci on the other hand is a poem which almost admits to a person of rather high importance, the knight, being led astray by a woman. This poem is set in the medieval period. Various power dynamics are explored throughout the poem, mainly the various struggles between the desire of the man, and the simple want of pleasure for the woman. The atmosphere is largely controlled by the weather displayed in the poem. This poem first begins by thinking of the power of nature and how this seems to coincide with the mood of the narrator, creating a pathetic fallacy. He is described by the visitor as ‘alone’ and ‘palely loitering’, and to add to the rather sombre starting, the atmosphere is seen as in the winter, where the ‘sedge’ has ‘withered’ away ‘from the lake’. This displays how the rather somber natural world seems to effect on his recovery from his painful loss of his girl. The weather seems to dampen his spirits and this is almost confirmed when it says that ‘no birds sing’, or that there is no sign of happiness. This power is quite strong as it is unavoidable, and can have an effect on his love for the woman as he may ponder on the relationship more. However, this is only one power dynamic that may have an effect on his love for the woman, and his overall love outlook. This power is far less prominent in ‘My Last Duchess’ with the atmosphere merely created through the dramatic monologue. Also, the main atmosphere is created through the ranting of the Duke. A woman’s power over a man is not often accredited, however it is brought to light in this poem with the woman who he (the knight) see’s as a ‘faery’s child’, or in essence a woman with an abundance of beauty. This power of the woman over him may have resulted in him becoming quite ‘haggard’ and ‘woe-begone’ meaning his gradual degrading of state, because of his insistence that ‘she did love’ him, even though he believes she does, although she never explicitly stated those words, and this is backed up later in the poem when he admits she said it in a ‘strange’ ‘language’, which he believed said that she ‘love[d]’ him, even though it was quite plain to see that she did not in fact love him, but was there to be pleasured. This shows that the woman used her power to manipulate what was the result. However, another power that is used to some extent, is matriarchal power, on a more philosophical sense, as the knight imagines the lady wearing a ‘garland’ that could be seen as him trying to believe that the ‘sacred’ woman is still angelic, however, this is contradicted when he describes her as ‘wild’ and that he could only ‘shut her eyes with kisses four’. This shows that he had such an infatuation with his prospective wife that he looked past these slight niggles, as he was blinded by the power of love, which is essentially what under lied all of the events that occurred in the whole poem. The first poem on the other hand instead looks at the woman as someone who should be at the hand of the man to answer to his every need, not someone who should be able to have fun when she wants, and in this poem the woman is allowed to freely go, whereas in the first poem, she comes to an arguably, sinister end. Furthermore, in ‘My Last Duchess’ the woman is not given much power except those that come with the name, and of course her egalitarian power. Apart from this, ‘My Last Duchess’ has few similarities with this poem with regards to the way women are treated; aside from the fact that the knight believes she should be obedient to him. Strangely, it seemed that hierarchal power was of not much importance to the two, as despite the promise of power, the woman still left him ‘alone and palely loitering’. This was also unconventional, rather like most of the events that occurred in this narrative, where the woman didn’t jump at the option of gaining some power, but instead just left him. It seems that the woman was just there for the power of the promise of being made love to, but not hierarchal power. Instead this poem seems to focus only on the aspects of love, unlike the first poem which makes sure that the reader is aware of the hierarchal integrity that is needed. This is at odds with ‘My Last Duchess’ which focuses heavily on how the status brings power to the family, and it is essentially this that makes the Duke so incensed by the bad behavior of his wife. However, this poem doesn’t use the masculine pentameter, instead it has the last two syllables unstressed, which gives the impression of having a much softer, and morose feel to the poem, which is quite suited to the overall theme of the poem. This is in stark contrast to the more conversational, but still fiercer style of the first poem. Conclusively, the power dynamics explored in the first poem are far more diverse, and it appears that there are much more powerful components involved in the rather complex relationship, and it showed the power of the relationship that the man was ready to kill, or silence his wife. This is contrary to the second poem where the knight seems to be rather constrained and polite at all times, and in this case it is the woman who has control over the man, unlike the trends of the time. Overall, the power dynamics behind love in the first poem varies greatly; largely going down to hierarchal power, but the second poem is a relationship of courtly love, which is not based on true unabated love. The third poem is a strange mix of the previous two poems, with both patriarchal and matriarchal poems being discussed. A woman to her lover offers a refreshing insight into the inner workings of a woman’s mind. It begins by listing all the conventions, particularly how males usually dominate society. She openly attacks these conventions, by saying that if he wants to ‘make of [her] a bond slave’ then she simply ‘refuse[s]’ him. This is quite odd, as the poem was written at a time, when everything that she is trying to repress was actually the norm of the day, so it is seen as quite unconventional that a woman is being able to exert so much power of a man, by actively refusing to follow the current conventions of the time. This matriarchal power trying to quell the patriarchal power is evident. This is in stark contrast to ‘My Last Duchess’, where the main forms of power explored are those which are typically more to do with patriarchal powers, in a male dominated society. For example, the Duke feels that she should respect his ‘name’. However, this poem does bear some resemblance to the second poem, in the way that both seem to respect that women do have some power over men, however limited and unconventional it may be. However, this poem is largely egalitarian power, as it largely displays how men and women should be treated as equals, and this is demonstrated when she pleads to her lover, that she wants to be treated as a ‘comrade’, and a ‘friend’. This shows that this woman firmly believed that she was in an equal position to the man, and, despite it being said otherwise in the unwritten law of the land; the woman feels that she should be at the same level as the man. The narrator uses phrases such as ‘o husband’, and ‘I am yours forever’ to try and show that she has submitted to him, and to try and restore some order, with the male again being the more dominant one. This is surprisingly similar to ‘My Last Duchess’ as both women in the poems try to make them equal with the opposite gender, seemingly oblivious to the opposite gender. Another key aspect of this poem is the way in which it is written, such as organization, and poetic techniques. Firstly, it is written using enjambment, creating a more conversational style to the poem. This means that the woman does not appear to be dominating too much, and is, as a result, courting him on equal terms, emphasizing the fact that she feels that it should be a ‘level playing field’ for them. It is also quite clever in the way it manages to make the things that it is trying to crack down on come first and then it brings them down by saying what she would actually like. This is clever because it sticks in the person’s mind, and creates a stronger argument. The technique of enjambment is similar to the first poem, where it manages to create a conversational style so as to appear to converse with the other messenger, while realistically the Duke isn’t very sociable. However, none of these literary techniques are echoed in the second poem, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, which is probably due to the problem of both being written in completely different styles, with one being a more sorrowful poem, and the other being a more commanding and endearing poem. Conclusively, the three poems all share a variety of power dynamics that are all explored. The most common theme was that of which gender was more dominant and which gender was controlled. This was mostly explored in ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘A woman to her lover’. Inevitably this led on to the topic of equality, and it is in this way that egalitarian power was brought to light. Even ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ explored how the woman and the man were both equal as they could both enter and leave the relationship as they did please. However, poetic techniques were used to further enhance the message of the poem; with all the poems using a different poetic technique to enhance and improve it’s delivery of different love and power dynamics. In the end, the power of love seemed to encompass all the poems, as all three showed how love took control of the.

Does stroke rehabilitation improve the quality of life in sroke Dissertation

Does stroke rehabilitation improve the quality of life in sroke survivors - Dissertation Example Combination of different rehabilitation techniques is more effective than monotherapy. Conclusions The treatment and rehabilitation of stroke is a continuous process and should end only when the patient has satisfactory level of quality of life. There is no limit to the possibility of stroke rehabilitation regardless of the time elapsed since the onset of stroke. CHAPTER 1 - Introduction 1.1 Purpose of chapter Stroke or acute cerebrovascular event is the third most prevalent cause of death and the leading cause of permanent disability in the general population in all western countries (Lloyd-Jones et al 2009). Research shows that most of stroke patients survive the first cerebrovascular event, however they are commonly affected by some form of significant disability and have significantly reduced quality of life. Every year in United States there are approximately 750000 cases of stroke and half of them are first stroke events that leave around 300 000 people with some form of disabi lity or impermanent (Raphael et al 2006). These large incidences of stroke cause heavy burden on the society but also on the individual lives of the patients, on their physical, emotional and social wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families. This is because more than 50 percents of these patients will be unable to take care of themselves and will need some form of support from a second person in order to be able to satisfy even the basic needs (Rothwell et al 2004). This is also one of the biggest fears of every stroke survivor, the fear that he or she will be unable to function independently and will become a burden on their family (Benedetta et... Purpose of this study is to present new insights about the effectiveness of stroke rehabilitation in stroke patients and evaluate the effectiveness of stroke rehabilitation. Stroke or acute cerebrovascular event is the third most prevalent cause of death and the leading cause of permanent disability in the general population in all western countries. Research shows that most of stroke patients survive the first cerebrovascular event, however they are commonly affected by some form of significant disability and have significantly reduced quality of life. Every year in United States there are approximately 750000 cases of stroke and half of them are first stroke events that leave around 300 000 people with some form of disability or impermanent. These large incidences of stroke cause heavy burden on the society but also on the individual lives of the patients, on their physical, emotional and social wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families. This is because more than 50 percents o f these patients will be unable to take care of themselves and will need some form of support from a second person in order to be able to satisfy even the basic needs. This is also one of the biggest fears of every stroke survivor, the fear that he or she will be unable to function independently and will become a burden on their family. This problem is expected only to grow with the increasing aging of the population in the western countries and the prolonged life span. This has influence on the increase of costs for managing stroke patients which exceeded 73 billion dollars in the United States in year 2010.

International Relationsin UK and Qatar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Relationsin UK and Qatar - Essay Example 88). Therefore, the paper aims at examining the international relation between UK and Qatar with other countries in line with international disputes. The UK’s foreign relations are implemented in its foreign and commonwealth offices. However, the UK’s prime minister among other agencies have vital roles to play especially in setting these polices. It is worth noting that Great Britain was once the foremost powerful nation in the world particularly in the 18th and 19th as well as in the early 20th century; therefore, it is bound to have numerous international disputes than Qatar. Moreover, holding that it was once a major colonial giant, she is bound to fight for its oversea territories that Qatar will never think of the same. UK has had numerous international disputes since 1945 and among its major such disputes include its involvement in the Greek Civil War of between 1946 and 1949. It had also a major role in ensuring there was independent Palestine and Israel. In ensuring the same, it occupied Palestine between 1945 and 1948 until the united nation formalized the independence of these two warring nations in the y ear 1948 (Dellorto, 2013; p. 182). It should be noted that UK was part of the cold war (1947 to 1991) between Soviet Union and the United States where the United States emerged to be the world’s supper power. UK has also had numerous international disputes in affair touching the Arab nations specifically for oil and international security related issues. For instance, the Gulf War where it claimed that Iraq interfered with it oil companies. Additionally, UK has been US’s greatest ally especially in resolving international disputes. It has helped US in fighting its wars on terrorism with Arab nations. For instance, in 2011, under the mandate of the UN, the UK forces helped US in the operation Ellamy where they enforced the Libyan no fly zone orders (Dellorto, 2013; p. 216). Finally, in 2013, the UK supported

Tertullian, From Apologia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tertullian, From Apologia - Essay Example bout worship and nothing ulterior, they would be wise enough to convert to the true religion and end the persecution that they inflicted on Christians at that time. Tertullian is not a man with moderate temperament and his defense for Christianity is very fiery in Apology. He is very forceful when advocating for Christianity and uses every opportunity to discredit the roman polytheism which was the tradition of the Roman Empire and also was against the worship of the emperor as he felt they were mere idolatry and superstitions that were baseless. His love for Christianity would not allow him to sit back and watch while the people who worshipped with him were persecuted by the Romans who did not care even a little about the religion and felt that it was a threat to the traditional roman ways. Tertullian was looking to end this so that there would be harmony between the two factions and probably the Romans crossing over to Christianity. His cause was helped by his education as he was a ble to explain things much better. Apologia is the Latin word for apology and it means to explain; Tertullian was trying to do this in his apology. He tries to make the roman people view Christianity from a different angle as they had perceptions that were untrue about the religion. His education was very useful as he was able to talk to the other educated Romans and have their attention. There were ridiculous accusations leveled against Christianity like incest, atheism and even cannibalism and he tried hard to help the people understand the values of Christianity as a way of helping clear the reputation of Christianity that was stained by false accusations. He also felt that rather than persecuting them, the Romans should have thanked the Christians as all they did was expound the truth to the citizens who believed and followed other religions other than Christianity. They totally deserved the plaudits that Tertullian was trying to get them as they persevered the pain and suffering

Depletion of the High Plains Aquifer (paper 5) Essay

Depletion of the High Plains Aquifer (paper 5) - Essay Example In America there is an adequate amount of agricultural land to, for the most part, sustain our population. Gutentag’s observations indicate that the farmers of this agricultural land in turn rely heavily on whatever water resources they can exploit to bolster production. Irrigation is the major issue causing a depletion of the water table in this region, posing a major threat to the Ogallala aquifer (Gutentag). The recharge is considered a factor of interest in this paper. Cities located on the aquifer will also be considered as possible factors. This paper will examine the origin of the Ogallala aquifer, its depletion, consequences of this depletion and the possible measures which can be taken to curb its depletion. Besides, I will also address the counterarguments to this depletion. Before evaluating whether depletion in aquifers is anthropogenic or natural it would benefit to address where the ground water came from. Multiple factors play the contributory role in the establ ishment of underground water among which are glacial melt, underground water movement through infiltration and percolation (MacNeill; McDermott &. Horne).â€Å"Glaciers account for more than scenic alpine landscapes. Glacial deposits form fertile soils in the Unites States and southern Canada and many ground-water aquifers†(Smith 438). 21,000 years ago a massive glacier covered most of the United States. As this glacier receded to what now is the glacier covering Greenland, it ground the surface rock, creating fertile soil in its wake as well as saturating the aquifers below. Since then there has been small amounts of recharge from rain and snow absorption, but the vast majority was accumulated from the last ice age (Hutson, Barber, Kenny, Linsey, Lumia, and Maupin). During the thawing process, when the snow water melts, some melt water find their way to the underground channels though the soil pores and rock joints. This seeping water upon reaching the aquifer often settle i n this region to form the underground punk. Besides, the glacial moraine forms fertile grounds for agricultural practices, a common phenomenon which ushered in the south west region after the universal glacial recession, the geologic ice age, about 250- 350 million years ago. The presence of fertile soil and convenient access to groundwater below the surface has created an agricultural oasis in the Midwest, but the many straws stuck into the aquifer are draining it at an alarming rate. Ground water in aquifers is typically discharged through natural and anthropogenic means. â€Å"Permanently flowing streams intersect the water table and gain discharge from ground water flow. Streams not in contact with the water table are dry during periods of limited rainfall. When streams above the water table receives runoff, some of the flow is lost to ground water through infiltration through the bed† (Smith 418). In nature, without anthropogenic effects, an individual would note that Aq uifers are constantly ‘full’, giving off whatever rainfall or snowmelt acquired in the form of discharge into local streams. This is almost never the case currently, due to the result of the anthropogenic effect on the aquifers. As humans have tapped into the aquifers, they have dropped

Reflection paper about upervisor support Assignment

Reflection paper about upervisor support - Assignment Example In most cases, supervisors have a lot of work experience in comparison to other employees. In effect, they enhance teamwork by supporting other members of the organization in their roles using their gained experience. Furthermore, teamwork leads to job satisfaction in an organization, which further leads to high productivity. Hence, the supervisor greatly influences productivity in an organization. However, it is important to note that, at some instances some employees may fail to see the limit to which the extent of support reaches. In this case, this might be instances in which support is deemed too much. As such, some of these employees may consider themselves equal in standing with the supervisors. In effect, they may become laidback in their roles and effectively decline in productivity. However, such occurrences are rare once an organization establishes the limit to supervisor support. As explained, the role of a supervisor in supporting their staff is crucial in an organization. In this regard, the organization should find ways of improving the role of supervisors in supporting the other members of staff. One way of improving supervisors support is by the management giving the supervisors all the support they need in executing their roles in the organization. Once the management gives the supervisors its undue support, the supervisor reciprocates and offers support to those they are supervising. On the other hand, in-service training of the supervisor and other staff members is crucial to ensure each member plays their role effectively. Griffin, M. A., Patterson, M. G., & West, M. A (2001). Job satisfaction and teamwork: The role of supervisor support. Journal of Organizational Behavior. (Vol. 22, pp. 537-550). New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons,

Air Commerce Act of 1926 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Air Commerce Act of 1926 - Research Paper Example Then in 1918, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was form to provide regulation of air commerce, including licensing of pilots and inspection of aircrafts and airfields. The following year this organization drafted a bill for the congress to consider. This bill could lead to creation of a bureau of aeronautics within the department of commerce. Due to lack of adequate budget and the political philosophy of those days, that bill was not enacted. The efforts to have some form of regulation continued with the congress having a bill related to this every year between 1919 and 1926. During these years, several legislation measures were proposed but they failed at some point in the legislation process. One of these legislation measures was the Civil Aeronautical Bill of 1923, which sought to regulate airspace and establish federal licensing standards. This bill failed in the committee stage as a few steps to becoming a law. In the late 1924 and early 1925 two committees , the Marrow Board, and congressional hearings took testimonies on this issue and issued reports endorsing similar recommendations, which would later emerge as the Air Commerce Act of 1926. ... Another purpose was to achieve a uniform nationwide system allocation throughout all the states of America which was to ensure that air transportation achieve almost similar growth in all the states. Moreover, the government in enacting this law purposed to have a system for registering aircrafts and aircrew. This could help the country in the management of its airspace and in general coordinate its air transportation. This also aimed to ensure that all airplanes and crewmembers meet required standards for enhanced safety. The impact of air Commerce Act was that it established an aeronautical branch within the department of commerce. This branch was given the mandate of undertaking all the regulation involving the activities of the aviation industry. This branch had five divisions within it and each division was assigned a specific task concerning the aviation industry. These divisions were the airways division, Aeronautical Research division, Aeronautical mapping division, aeronauti cal regulation division, and the air information division. The airways division was responsible for control the activities in the airways. The research division was responsible for any kind of research required to improve air transportation. The aeronautical mapping division was responsible for identifying new places to develop airports. The aeronautical division was responsible for regulating all the activities in this industry and the air information division was responsible for the custody of any information belong to this industry. At the beginning most of the work within this branch was undertaken by other established branches of this department except aeronautical regulation and air information. This is because

Marketing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Assignment - Essay Example Successful differentiation gives the firm a competitive advantage as customers will look at the products as superior and unique and can be achieved in various ways. This paper will first detail eight ways to differentiate product offerings, and then concentrate on packaging the product in a more creative manner and incorporating new functional features into the product or product innovation. Strategies for Product Differentiation One way to differentiate products is via product innovation by adding functions or features into a product and commanding a higher price (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 34). These features can be added through acquiring or licensing complementary feature sets or by using the firm’s in-house team for product development. Another way to differentiating products is through packaging. At times, all it takes to differentiate or re-energize a product is via changing the packaging. This was very effective when it was used in collaboration with another product and d elivered in an innovative manner. While this method does not have enough value to change a consumer’s life, the manner of packaging offers more convenience allowing them to charge more (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 45). A firm could also pursue other market niches in areas that are unsophisticated (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 67). ... Yet another product differentiation strategy is via the generation of referrals. A firm, in this case, helps to cultivate referrals and create sales models around the type of selling that are consultative while being less confrontational (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 76). In a competitive market, prospects referred by happy customers will be inclined to buy products. This can be achieved by offering incentives to current customers in the hope they will send referrals. Other firms will offer increased service as a means of product differentiation. They combine superior service with a commodity product that helps to differentiate this commodity. Through re-defining their service, the firm, redefines the playing field and offers a home-court advantage since other competitors do not use this combination while they charge a premium for the product. Another strategy is via figuring out what they can guarantee. Since the firm has to deliver on expectations from the client or refund them, they wi ll offer an upfront guarantee (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 87). A firm could guarantee their clients that their prices are the best, and offer to refund their money if they find cheaper items of the same quality elsewhere. Since the customer has not time to compare prices, they will buy this product because the price is guaranteed to be the lowest. Firms could also collaborate with complementary service or product providers when their product does not stand by itself as a unique offering. Both entities benefit from this arrangement, for instance, the HBO’s partnerships with motels to show their movies allows HBO to have exclusive viewership in these motels while the motels benefit from showing exclusive movies. Finally, a firm could also employ their hidden assets as a

Human psyche Essay Example for Free

Human psyche Essay The urge to compete is a large part of the human psyche. When this sense of competitiveness is taken to the extreme, a war may erupt. Throughout the history of humanity wars have been waged, even before the advent of writing, when poets where there to capture their essence. The epic poem The Iliad by Homer describes a war that took place almost two thousand, seven hundred years ago. The Greek society in which Homer lived was considered more violent than any in existence today. This gave him all the inspiration needed to create an epic war poem. By revealing to the reader the futility and horror of war, Homers Iliad offers an excellent critique of society, more specifically the fragility of human civilization and the savagery of human nature, when under the extreme pressures of combat. This masterful piece of literature, although written in many centuries ago, has much insight on ancient Greek society that can still be applied, with a modern twist, to todays world. The style Homer used in his epic poem was unconventional and highly successful. Compared to many other novels or poem of its time, as well as most modern pieces of literature, The Iliad is much longer. This both helps and hinders the texts ability to convey the messages and meanings of war. In order to capture and preserve the audiences interest during such a long poem, Homer took the reader on adventures beyond the Trojan battle field and into the life of each individual solider. By doing this, the reader feels drawn into the story and shares the horrors and futility the Greeks faced during the Trojan War. A large part of Homers work is dedicated to war and battle scenes. The main reason for this is because many believed Greek society, which took place seven hundred years before Christ, was brutally violent. Fighting was an everyday occurrence and brought honour among the warriors. The Greek gods did not dissipate the violent society; in fact they encouraged it by demanding animal s acrifices as part of daily rituals. It is this bloodlust, along with Homers original style, that has made The Iliad popular and highly influential to this day. War stories depict, through their graphic imagery, the horrors and tragedies taking place during a battle and The Iliad is no exception. The Iliad is most effective at portraying the futility and horrors of war throughout the text with all the gory details. Homer does an excellent job at capturing the realism of each battle scene in over five thousand lines of prose, nearly one third of the poem. As critic Martin Muller points out in Fighting in the Iliad the poet and his audience like such [battle] scenes and their periodic occurrence require no greater motivation then bar-room brawls in a Western. The following quote illustrates Homers ability to evoke graphic images during a battle:  The shaft pierced the tight belts twisted thongs,  piercing the blazoned plates, piercing the guard  he wore to shield his loins and block the spears,  his best defense-the shaft pierced even this,  the tip of the weapon grazed the mans flesh,  and dark blood came spurting from the wound. (pg149, p2) This quote gives the reader a clear image of what is happening as the shaft wounds the unfortunate soldier. Homer also adds to the horrors of the war by telling us about the history of each individual solider before their death. With about two hundred and fifty names in the text, all with individual stories behind their life or death, the story may become murky but never unemotional. Many times a character will be introduced only to be killed off within the same chapter. This adds to the death, destruction and ultimately the horror of the war the Greeks and the Trojans are fighting. As well as reminding the reader of the horrors of war, Homer tells of the futility of fighting such a bloody battle. The sense of frustration and futility of the war is clearly sown as the Greeks fight the Trojans for more than nine years on end. With war comes death, a fact that resounds throughout the Iliad:  While Euchenor knew that boarding the ships for Troy  meant certain death: his father told him so  time and again the strong old prophet said that  hed die in his own halls of a fatal plague  or go with the ships and die at Trojan hands. (pg362, p3) In this quote, describing the life of a solider before he is killed, we see that his efforts during the war appear pointless. He could have met a similar dishonourable death by staying home and enjoying his life. Death represents the futility of fighting a war because it is the only guaranteed result. Monarch Notes tells that since death is a constant presence in life we may better see how men value their lives when they are close to that presence. Homer does an excellent job of bringing the reader down to the battle so that the futility of war can be closely felt.

Politics and Religion Essay Example for Free

Politics and Religion Essay Do Religion And Politics Go Hand In Hand? Of Course They Do! Religion in politics has long been a taboo subject or elusive topic to most as they argue that they cannot cohesively coexist together when in all actuality they can and do coexist together. Religion and politics essentially belong together like mashed potatoes and gravy so to speak. However, all around the world the extent to which they coexist varies depending on the cultural influence as well as historical significance pertaining to their area. Religion plays a huge role in American politics. During the 2012 election year people were polled on the importance of religion in their lives and 56 percent said that it is â€Å"very important in their lives. † (Miller) Religion plays a substantial role in politics from influencing how some politicians will cast their vote on certain issues to persuading voters to vote for one candidate or another. Although America prides itself on its religious diversity and separation of church and state however it is a prove fact that religion helps determine who a voter will cast their ballot for. A Gallup poll from June of 2012 discovered that 58 percent of Americans would vote for a Muslim candidate while only 54 percent of Americans would vote for an atheist candidate. When polled it also found that only 1 in 5 Americans would vote for a Mormon candidate which could have essentially cost Romney millions of votes due to his religious preference. Indeed we have seen religion play a very influential role in politics in 2012. Religion and politics were very closely tied together during the presidency of George Walker Bush. â€Å"In the eyes of a lot of people religion played a bigger role in government than usual during the presidency of George W. Bush. President Bush evoked God in his speeches more often than other presidents, stated in interviews that God advised him on certain actions and that he firmly believed that he was enacting God’s will as the chief executive of the United States. (Oganesian) Even our Declaration of Independence closely ties religion and politics together with such statements as, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. † Notice that Creator is capitalized and undeniably it states that we are endowed certain unalienable rights from our Creator. This can either be someone’s higher power if they choose to call it by that name or simply it could be God. Does religion truly belong in politics? This may very well be one of the toughest questions ever asked in this day and age. Religion delves on the belief in good and morality while politics are the workings and dealings of the administration of government. We are a Nation that was founded on Moral Values, Decency and the rule of law. God’s laws will always play a part in politics. If you examine our money even it says,† In God We Trust. † Truly separation of church and state will never be fully successful. When our President is sworn in to the oath of office even he has to swear on a Holy Bible. Is he not the highest ranking government official in our nation? Yet even he has to follow the rules and guidelines that deal with religion. Over and over again we see how closely religion and politics are actually entwined with one another. According to Djupe and Olson, psychological approaches to the study of religion and politics â€Å"view the key attachment point between religious faith and political commitments as the individual’s identification with religious reference groups† (2007:256). Leege and his colleagues noted that the psychological power of group identification is essential to religion’s effect on politics. For example, groups form the basis of cleavage in a larger society for a variety of cultural and political reasons: (1) whether based on voluntary affiliation or generational replacement, groups socialize members into their values ;( 2) through processes of social identification; groups develop consciousness of kind so that it is possible for members to say â€Å"we hey†; (3) through the interaction of members, a sense of social cohesion develops that provides reinforcement for group identity and norms; and (4) through an advantageous political shorthand, political elites think of society in terms of groups. (2002:49–50) Political issues such as abortion and even same sex marriages are governed by some underlying religious values. For example, many laws dealing with these issues are either vetoed or not put into law by the people who in turn use their religious values to help them vote on the topic. Many states still outlaw homosexual marriages because when it is put on the ballot those who believe that it is wrong vote against it so such laws cannot be passed. Many top politicians think of society in terms of groups whether they be religious groups or political groups. We live in an increasingly religious world in which faith and belief affect every dimension of our existence, so our politicians better talk about it. (Marshall, 2008) Religion does not exist in solitude or expressly by itself. It molds our fundamental view of the essence of human life and the morality in which we should live our lives. Going back to the Constitution the First Amendment guarantees â€Å"the free exercise of religion and prohibits the establishment of religion by the government. † By guaranteeing the free exercise of religion and prohibiting the establishment of religion by the government these principles are working together to protect religious freedom as well as a diversely thriving and religious landscape. The role of religion in politics around the world is sometimes controversial at best however even in other countries politics and religion are closely tied together. Even in post-communist countries such as Latvia political parties and religious groups have alliances which can sometimes sway their supporters to vote for a certain political force. The â€Å"Harmony Center†, that positions itself as an alliance of several (but not all) Social Democratic parties, also demonstrates special courtesy to the church. (Tcraudkalns, pg5) Even in Australia where their reputation for â€Å"godlessness† dates back to the nineteenth century where most places had pubs before they had a church religion and politics are still tied closely together. Australia has a unique way of describing politics and religion in terms of masculinity and femininity. â€Å"This reference to Australian â€Å"maleness† suggests that discussions of the relationship between politics and religion are always also discussions about gender. The association of masculinity with the public realm and rationality, and of femininity with religious faith and the home, makes this impossible to avoid. † (Bellanta, pg10) Although there has never been an established church in Australia the churches that are large and established have had a specific presence and role in public matters. However secular Australia proclaims to be religion has a new found role for itself which proves it has not been abolished. Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian, has provided since the late 1960s a theological interpretation of the person of God and his work that has been closely linked with human history, and particularly with the poor and the marginalized. (Aguilar pg. 146) Gutierrez believed that a direct connection of the Christian faith and the practice of politics could be felt as a result of Christ’s incarnation. He closely tied together religion and politics through the human commonality and to the practice of religion and politics centered on the poor, on the commandment of love and of service to the marginalized as a way of life and in a new era of hermeneutics and commonality. Gutierrez relied heavily on biblical text to tie together religion and politics through the service of the poor. When reading Gutierrez’s writing there is no concise separation of religion and politics. He clearly stated that the practice of religion as well as the practice of politics must be conveyed through the Christian faith. In the words of Gutierrez: â€Å"We shall not have our great leap forward, into a whole new theological perspective, until the marginalized and exploited have begun to become the artisans of their own liberation—until their voice makes itself heard directly, without mediation, without interpreters—until they themselves take account, in the light of their own values, of their own experience of the Lord in their efforts to liberate themselves. We shall not have our quantum theological leap until the oppressed themselves theologize, until â€Å"the others† themselves personally reflect on their hope of a total liberation in Christ. For they are the bearers of this hope for all humanity. † Nigeria’s view on politics and religion are that they mix like â€Å"snake oil and fire water. † It is said that Nigerians are some of the most prayerful people on Earth however Olaye is upset that politicians speak godly words to one another without acting on it. We are taught in the U. S. enerally not to mix religion and politics I our conversation however that does not ring true in Nigeria because they do quite opposite of that. Although Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council is taking prayer from the beginning of public events they are still going to read the pious words of the second stanza of Nigeria’s national anthem. (Sample: â€Å"Oh God of creation. Direct our noble course. Guide our leaderà ¢â‚¬â„¢s right. †(Olaye) Olaye wishes that Nigeria politicians would stop the hypocrisy and says until they do that their country will continue to suffer. In Egypt even the Secretary General has an interesting view on politics and religion. He expressed hope that Muslims would draw a line so that â€Å"politics does not dominate religion, and religion does not dominate politics†. (Ihsanoglu) Two of the main fears in Egypt right now after the fall of Hosni Mubarak are actually related to religion. They are religious identity politics and the largest minority of the religious demographic Coptic Christians. He believes in mutual respect and non-interference between the Islam religion and Egyptian political order. These beliefs are showing us that all over the world no matter how separate people try to keep church and state they are actually inevitably entwined together with no line of separation in sight. Some well-known republicans such as Mike Huckabee and Billy Graham are well known Christians who also turn their values of faith into the public’s eye. During the 2012 election season Graham was quoted as saying, â€Å"I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God. † Some would even say that Democrats do the best to live by biblical principles of taking care of the less fortunate among us who are already among the living. However it could be argued that Republicans take a better stance on the biblical principle of protecting the unborn. Jesus warns against those who aspire to political correctness. He says: †¢let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. (Matthew 15:14) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:9) †¢Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? (Luke 6:39)(The Holy Bible) Even as far back as in Jesus time he himself laid out the foundation of politics and religion being one in the same. In church it is taught that going against what is the law such as speeding is considered sin and goes against the political laws which have been set forth in our society. Therefore religious people must abide by the political values set forth in our society. If you turn the table’s politicians must even be religious to a degree because they consider killing, stealing, etc. to be wrong and thus are religiously entwined to the Ten Commandments. In conclusion I say religion in politics has long been a taboo subject and elusive topic to most as they argue that they cannot cohesively coexist together when in all actuality they can and do coexist together. Religion and politics essentially belong together as they date back to even biblical times. However, all around the world the extent to which they coexist varies depending on the cultural influence as well as historical significance pertaining to their area. We have seen that I places such as Latvia, Egypt, and even Nigeria that religion and politics do go together however the extent of their union depends on their different cultural influences. Religion and politics even though we have been taught do not need to bring up as a singular subject and in fact they actually can be brought up together and should be because they are essentially a married union to one another. Whilst some critics will still argue that religion and politics are a disaster when they are meshed together their will always be people who disagree o the subject. Everyone will never be o the same page when it pertains to religion in politics or politics in religion.

Cloud Based Customer Relationship Management Marketing plan of Starbucks coffee shop

Cloud Based Customer Relationship Management Marketing plan of Starbucks coffee shop EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report looks at the Marketing plan of Starbucks coffee shop, and its contribution to the success of company. Formation of successful marketing plan is the key point for a company to gain the competitive advantage over its competitors. The marketing plan evaluates the strategies currently adopting by the company. But the main theme of this report is to focus mainly on company marketing strategies, such as SWOT Analysis, Ansoff Growth Matrix, Boston Consulting Group Matrix, 4s, company short term goals, objectives, and how it can be successful in the future. COMPANYS INTRODUCTION: Starbucks Corporation is a dominant multinational coffee and coffeehouse chain company based in the United States. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world with 8,505 company-owned and 6,505 licensed stores in 42 countries, making a total of 15,011 stores worldwide. Starbucks sells drip brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drink, fruit bottled, coupled with sandwiches, pastries, snacks, salads, soups, other hot and cold drink. Core competency of star bucks: To summarize, Starbucks has a high reputation for quality because of the following: The company goes to extreme lengths to buy the very finest Arabica coffees available on world markets, regardless of price. The companys freshness and quality are legendary. Beans that are held in bins for more than a week are donated to charity. Every piece of coffee-brewing equipment that is sold has been tested and evaluated. Each Starbucks employee is extensively trained to ensure that customers receive knowledgeable service. Mission Statement: To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow. The following six Guideline Principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions: Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. Apply the highest standard of excellence to the purchasing roasting and fresh delivery of our customer. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customer all of the time. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success. Starbucks has the following core values: Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. Market Demographics: The profile for the starbucks customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, and behavior factors: Geographic: The geographic survey may include the identification of total number of population, in society and total number of target customer in which you are operating (Lanchester, Massingham, Ashford 2002). The immediate geographic target market for starbucks is the total population of the UK which is 60,776,238 approximately. The specific targeted market of Starbucks is mostly the students of schools, colleges, and universities. Demographics: Male and female. Age below 40. This age range draws off a combination of university students and locals within the society. Have (or are getting) a college education and some with graduate degrees. An income over  £457 per week (except the students who earn far less but have a decent amount of disposable income). Non-conventional customers. Psychographic: The people who want to enjoy a totally different coffee experience, they go to starbucks as it is positioned a completely different coffee shop. MARKET NEEDS: Starbucks is providing with a wide range of high quality coffee and snacks options to their customer. Starbucks seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are important to their customers: Selection: A wide range of coffee and snacks options that is unavailable at the larger, dominant coffee chains. Accessibility: Almost all types of coffee are available from starbucks centrally located storefront. Customer service: The patron will be impressed with the level of attention that they receive. Competitive pricing: Prices of all range of coffee and other stuff will be priced competitively relative to the competition. SITUATION ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS: The company situation analysis is used at the business level to determine the strategic issues and problems that need to be addressed through the next three steps of the strategic planning process. Starbucks has own very good different kinds of strength to dominant in this industry make it to differentiate to others one in this market. This are the strength, those help starbucks to achieve their targets and desire goals. These are the stratbucks some important characteristics or strengths. STRENGHTS: Strong Brand Recognition Large retail distribution system Quality product Extensive product list Good supplier relationship Strong financial history Strong human resources WEAKNESSES: Even though starbucks posses a number of strengths but it also has some weakness too. starbucks needs to overcome on and deal them for remaining the top position in this competitive market. These are the s following list of starbucks weaknesses: Dependence on single source of business income Prices high relative to competition Strong dependence on suppliers Merchandise sales in stores SWOT ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK OPPORTUNITIES: It is a fact that every company who enter in the market must has different kind of opportunities prevail in market. This is the important, how to recognize and make to strategy to acquire them, acquiring these opportunities is called success of company . Starbucks can more successes in market if they will be able to act upon theses opportunities accordingly. The following new opportunities can help starbucks to success more in the future in the way of their business. Expansion into overseas markets Expansion into untapped U.K and worldwide markets Expansion of brand name into new products or business lines THREATS: Nobody knows about tomorrow. Especially for nowadays circumstances, world is changing dramatically. Some new threats are prevailing in the market with full swing of their effectiveness. Despite the fact of strong position of strabucks in the market, he still need to keep eye on these threat get strong positioning and branding. These are the list of some very common internally and externally threats. Economic conditions may make consumers unwilling to pay high prices Political conditions abroad may limit expansion Increasing competition in coffee market May be reaching saturation point in some U.S markets Increase prices of raw material for coffee and other stuff BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG) MATRIX: The Boston consulting Groups growth-share matrix, developed in the early 1970s, probably became the most popular management technique ever. The vertical dimension is th growth rate of the market, which is used by the BCG as a proxy variable for market attractiveness. High-Growth markets are assumed to be more attractive because, being competitively non zero sum, market share gains are often more easily obtained. Also market share gains in a growth market will be worth more in the future as the market develops. The midpoint between high and low market gtowth is In the BCG matrix, star quadrant is the most dominant place where the companies enjoy the high market growth and high market share. Thats why every company wants to stay in star quadrant. As STARBUCKS coffee shop is the renowned coffee chain in the world, thats why it clearly lies in the (STAR QUADRANT High Growth + High Share) because the annual sales of the company in last financial year 2007 are US $ 9.411 Million, moreover the coffee shop enjoying the highest market share as well in the coffee industry. ANSOFFS GROWTH MATRIX: The product-market matrix proposed by ANSOFF, provides a useful framework for considering the relationship between strategic direction, and marketing strategy (Brassington Pettitt 2006). The four-cell matrix shown in the figure considering various combinations of product-market options. Each cell in the Ansoff Matrix presents distinct opportunities, threats, resources, requirements, return and risks. Market expansions means selling more of the existing products to new markets, which could be based on new geographic segments or could be created by opening up other new segments such as age, product, usage, lifestyle or any other segmentation variables (Brassington Pettitt 2006 p 955). In the ANSOFF growth matrix, the STARBUCKS coffee shop lies in the (MARKET EXPENSION Existing Product + New Market), because company is making very good profit in almost every coffee shop in different location of the world. Expending its coffee market in Middle East, and Asia could be very helpful for the companys profit because there is huge potential for the coffee market as there is no famous coffee shops in that part of the world. Just like recently they have opened their two coffee shops, one in China and other is in Kuwait. MARKETING MIX STRATEGY FOR STARBUCKS: In order to make appropriate strategies for gaining customers preferences and their loyalty, we need to understand as to how STARBUCKS Marketing Mix or 4 Ps have enabled the company to achieve superior customer satisfaction, and also in building a long-term relationship with its customers. The issue is not whether there should be four, six, or ten Ps so much as what framework is most helpful in designing marketing strategy. Just as economics use two principals concepts for their framework of analysis, namely Demand, and Supply. The marketers see the four Ps as a filing cabinet of tools that could guide their marketing planning (Philip Kotler, 1999 p 96). Following are the some recommendations for STARBUCKS in relation with marketing mix: Frame Work of marketing Mix PRODUCT: Typically, the marketing mix stars with product p. the heart of the marketing mix, the starting point is the product offering and product strategy. It is hard to design a place strategy, decide on a promotion campaign, or set a price without knowing the product to be marketed. The product includes not only the physical unit but also its package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company image value, and many other factors. A Starbucks coffee has many product elements: the chocolate itself, a fancy gold wrapper, a customer satisfaction guarantee, and the prestige of the Starbucks coffee brand name. We buy things not only for what they do (benefits) but also for what they mean to us (status, quality, or reputation). Products can be tangible goods such as computers, ideas like those offered by a consultant, or services such as medical care. Products should also offer customer value. Decision that address the new product development process(innovation management), licensing strategies with potential partners, intellectual property rights, services provided to augment the revenue stream from base products product name/brand decisions ,development of complementary products by partners, creation of industry standards, packaging, and so forth, the critical need is to develop a stream of products with the right set of features to satisfy customer needs in a compelling yet simple fashion.( jakki j. Mohr, Sanjit Sengupta, Stanley Slater,2000, p7) In Starbucks they made purely their products to satisfying the needs of the customer, and they made coffee with the finest coffee ingredients of the world. The different range of coffee and snacks offered by STARBUCKS are as follow: ESPRESSO: Coffee Latte Cappuccino Vanilla Latte Coffee Americano Espresso COFFEE HOUSE FAVOURITES Caramel Hot Chocolate Coffee Misto Classic Hot Chocolate Signature Hot Chocolate Freshly Brewed coffee FRAPPUCCINO: Cinnamon Dolce Java Chip Espresso Coffee Caramel SPRING FAVOURITES: Cinnamon Dolce Latte Caramel Macchiato PRICE: decisions that establish price points for the company products, and address issues related cost to produce/manufacturer the good, margins along the distribution channel, competitors prices (pricing relative to a specific firm market position), customer value, total cost of ownership for the customer, price for product bundles, and profitability.( .( jakki j. Mohr, Sanjit Sengupta, Stanley Slater,2000, p8 ). Price is the only element of the marketing mix that produces revenue, As such; it serves a tactical as well as an economic role for an organization 9Holloway and Robison 1995). The price charged sends many signals about the likely value of the product being offered and, as such, must be commensurate with the quality of experience, Starbuckss product prices are relative high than others, because they target those people of society who give the preference on quantity. Following are the some prices of STARBUCKS famous products: ESPRESSO: Tall Grande Vent Coffee Latte  £2.05p  £2.40p  £2.65p Cappuccino  £2.05p  £2.40p  £2.65p Vanilla Latte  £2.35  £2.70p  £2.95p Coffee Americano  £1.75p  £1.90p  £2.05p Espresso  £1.20p  £1.40p  £1.55p COFFEE HOUSE FAVOURITES Caramel Hot Chocolate  £2.90p  £3.25p  £3.50p Coffee Misto  £1.95p  £2.35p  £2.55p Classic Hot Chocolate  £2.20p  £2.50p  £2.80p Signature Hot Chocolate  £2.65p  £3.00p  £3.25p Freshly Brewed coffee  £1.65p  £1.75p  £1.90p FRAPPUCCINO: Cinnamon Dolce  £3.05p  £3.25p  £3.45p Java Chip  £3.05p  £3.25p  £3.45p Espresso  £2.65p  £2.85p  £3.05p Coffee  £2.50p  £2.70p  £2.90p Caramel  £3.05p  £3.25p  £3.45p SPRING FAVOURITES: Cinnamon Dolce Latte  £2.70p  £3.05P  £3.30P Caramel Macchiato  £2.70P  £3.05P  £3.30P PLACE: Place, or distribution, strategies are concerned with making products available when and where customers want them. Would you rather buy a kiwi fruit at the 24-hour grocery store within walking distance or fly to Australia to pick your own, which involves all the business activates concerned with storing and transporting raw material or finished product. The goal is to make sure products arrive in usable condition at designated places when needed. For consumer goods the most visible player in the channel of distribution is retailer. Manufacturers and consumer alike have to put a lot of trust in the retailer to do justice to the product, to maintain stock, and to provide a satisfying purchasing experience. Retailer face the many of the same marketing decisions as other type of organization, and use the same marketing mix tools, but with a slightly different respective. They also face unique marketing problems for examples, store location, layout and the creation of store image and atmosphere. Every seller must decide deeply that how to make its products available to the target market with an easy access (Philip Kotler, 1999 p 103). Now in case of Starbucks they mainly build their stores in the prime location of the city where they can easily attracts their desired customers who really want to enjoy the taste of coffee. Just like in UK they build their stores mainly in the shopping malls and town centers. Now it is the need of the time that they should be concentrate to open their stores in Middle East and Asia. PROMOTION: Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotions role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, education, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or a product. A good promotion strategy, like using the Dilbert character in national promotion strategy for office Depot, can dramatically increase sales. Good promotion strategies do not guarantee success, however, despite massive promotional campaigns, the movies, The Alamo and The Lady-killers had disappointing box-office return. Each element of the promotion p is coordinated and managed with the others to create coordinated and managed with others to create a promotional blend or mix. These Starbucks nearly spends  £4.7 million every year for promotions. It is include the cost of print media, electronic media, indoor, outdoor media etc. The companys latest stunning plan is the Starbucks Card. You buy a re-chargeable card in the UK which can be used at coffee bars in the US, Canada, Australia and Thailand. The card will enhance the Starbucks experience for customers allowing them to buy their daily cup of coffee quickly and easily, even when they are not carrying cash. Recently company through an agreement between Starbucks, and T-Mobile the two companies have come up with a way to provide internet access at Starbucks location and high speed broadband for Starbucks customers as well. In addition, T-Mobile hot spot customers get to use the Starbucks stores as they do now. Moreover Starbucks spends millions of dollars internationally to protect the environment and global warming. DIVERCIFICATION: The major reason for a business adopting a strategy of diversification is therefore to allow it to reduce its dependence upon a single market area (W. Stewart Howe 1986 p 153). At a general strategic level Ansoff suggests three reasons why firms diversify. First, their objectives cannot be achieved by continuing to operate in their existing markets. Thus, since continued operation in these markets is not able to diversify the profit, risk or growth objectives of the business, achievement of these must be sought in new market areas. Second, where a business has excess financial resources beyond those necessary to satisfy its expansion plan in its existing markets, then rather than retain these resources in liquid form of business may invest them in new markets areas. Third, if greater opportunities are presented to the firm in new market areas than accrue from its existing activities. Then a diversification program may be undertaken to benefit from these. There are tw o types of diversifications: RELATED DIVERSIFICATION UN-RELATED DIVERSICATION RELATED DIVERSIFICATION: Expending combining with firms in different, but related industry that are Strategic Fits. UNRELATED DIVERSIFICATION: Growing by combining with firms in un-related industries, where higher financial returns are possible. Now, if Starbucks want to diversify its business outside the industry, then the company should start a totally new business that is not from the same industry. For example Starbucks is a coffee shop, if they enter in the manufacturing business and start making cars, bikes etc that will be the perfect example of diversification. But the main focus of the Starbucks should be on their strategic business unit which is coffee shop. If they want to diversify their business within the same industry i.e. related diversification, then the Starbucks should combine their business with their competitors to launch new products. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES: The franchiser/licenser remembers to provide a standard package of components, or ingredients together with management and marketing services, and advice. Since franchising involves the transfer of tangible, it can enable greater control of the operation for the originating manufacturer than licensing (Lancaster Massingham Ashford 2002 p 437). Starbucks currently use three strategies for business in overseas. These strategies are as follow: 1: Joint ventures 2: Licenses 3: Company-Owned Operations. Mainly the company uses the company-owned shops for the business in other countries. RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE MARKETING PLAN OF STARBUCKS (3 YEARS): By analyzing the above whole information such as Swot analysis, Ansoff analysis, BCG matrix, marketing mix, following should be the primary objectives of the marketing plan of Starbucks coffee shop for next 3 years: GOALS OR OBJECTIVES: Sales should be increased by 15 to 20% at least. In order to get increased sales, they should increase Gross Profit margin by 25%. Find more new markets especially in Middle East, and Asia. More strengthen their position as a worldwide coffee shop leader. Increase marketing budget by 15% In order to achieve the above future objectives, the Starbucks coffee shop should follow instructions: MAINTAIN SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: The Starbucks coffee shop should maintain the competitive advantage that it has got over other coffee shops. In order to maintain leading position in the coffee market, the Starbucks should introduce innovative products after good intervals. NEW TARGER MARKETS: To maintain the top position in the coffee market, Starbucks should go and find some new coffee potential market. Just like there is great potential of new coffee shop especially in Asia, and Middle East, as there is no famous coffee shop. Where they can capture in new market, and got some handsome profit as well. INTRODUCE SOME NEW PROMOTIONS: As Starbucks introduced a stunning promotion plan that is Starbucks re-chargeable card for purchasing coffee whether you have money or not at that time. Just like that company should develop a membership card especially for the students. Some discount should be offer to regular customer, and student to increase the retainment. INTRODUCE SOME INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS: To maintain the dominant position in the coffee market, it is necessary for the Starbucks that, they should introduce some really innovative products after good intervals. The induction of new products creates the brand loyalty among the customers. INCREASE MARKETING BUDGET: Marketing department is the one of the most important part of every company. This department is responsible for increasing sales. So in order to get more revenues, the company should increase the budget of marketing. Moreover they should include some world famous celebrities, conducting promotions events, seminars things like that for promotions their products. DIVERCIFY THE BUSINESS: To maintain the leading position in the coffee market, the Starbucks should go for diversification. Diversify the business in product-related items, or unrelated items to increase their revenues. IMPROVE THE PRODUCT QUALITY: To maintain the superb quality and taste of different products in Starbucks, the company should adopt the Total Quality Management tool, which means improve the products quality until the perfection, and there is no defect on product or zero defect products. EMPLOYEES MOTIVATIONS: Employees motivation is very important for every organization to get good profit, and in order to maintain its position in the market. Good pay, and reward system is the best tool to motivate the employees. So Starbucks should try to give good pay and benefits to their employees during the job. EMPLOYEES TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: Training and development of employees is an important task for the management in order to enhance the progress of company, and increase the sales, and produce the error free services.

Personal Narrative- Christmas Cookies Essay -- Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Christmas Cookies Although I have grown up to be entirely inept at the art of cooking, as to make even the most wretched chef ridicule my sad baking attempts, my childhood would have indicated otherwise; I was always on the countertop next to my mother’s cooking bowl, adding and mixing ingredients that would doubtlessly create a delicious food. When I was younger, cooking came intrinsically with the holiday season, which made that time of year the prime occasion for me to unite with ounces and ounces of satin dark chocolate, various other messy and gooey ingredients, numerous cooking utensils, and the assistance of my mother to cook what would soon be an edible masterpiece. The most memorable of the holiday works of art were our Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, which my mother and I first made when I was about six and are now made annually. I remember the deceitful character of the recipe the most from the first time I made Chocolate Crinkles. Being young, I didn’t understand the nature of unsweetened chocolate; it looked and smelled just like any other chocolate...

The Irresponsibility of Firestone :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Irresponsibility of Firestone â€Å"It was extremely difficult to control the truck at the time, and I had both my wife (two months pregnant) and my 16-month-old daughter screaming and crying in a panic...My wife has developed a fear of the only vehicle we have, understandably so. She fears other tires may also be defective and that we may be in danger† (Nathan). Much like the 4,300 similar complaints the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received, this Firestone tire consumer warned the agency of the faulty product and asked it to take action. Imagine a similar problem happening to you. While leisurely traveling down the highway, your SUV is suddenly thrown to the pavement. The tire tread on your left rear tire separates from the steel belt, and your vehicle can not overcome its speed of 65-mph, and crashes uncontrollably. The SUV rolls over, killing your family. Even though you complain, the NHTSA does nothing about the problem, and you hear about other similar accidents. On August 9, 2000, Bridgestone/Firestone, an international tire manufacturer, issued a recall of all its ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT tires. To date, the company has replaced 6.5 million tires (â€Å"Firestone death...†). Ford had contracted with Firestone to supply tires for all the SUV’s it produced. Together Firestone and Ford investigated the problems with the recalled tires. Despite much bickering between the two companies, the tires failed due to flaws in Firestone’s manufacturing and production. The NHTSA has reported a total of 148 deaths and 525 injuries involving tread separations, blowouts, and other problems with Firestone tires. The Middle East has reported at least seven deaths and Venezuela has reported forty-six due to the same kind of problem (â€Å"Firestone death...†). From both foreign countries and the United States, complaints state that the tires lose their casings when traveling at high speeds. The tire maker claimed it knew nothing of the tread problems until late July, yet consumers have warned the company since the mid 1990’s (Nathan). It also stated that the complaints it finally received did not raise any â€Å"red flags† because in relative terms, few tires had failed; less than one in every 10,000 of the 47 million ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT tires produced since 1991 have failed (Nathan). Most of the recalled tires came from the Decatur, Illinois plant, the main concentration of the investigation. The company claimed that a workers’ strike at that plant in the nineties, when replacement workers made the product, caused most of the problems.

The Importance of Blake in Today’s World :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Importance of Blake in Today’s World      Ã‚   William Blake, who lived in the latter half of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth, was a profoundly stirring poet who was, in large part, responsible for bringing about the Romantic movement in poetry; was able to achieve "remarkable results with the simplest means"; and was one of several poets of the time who restored "rich musicality to the language" (Appelbaum v). His research and introspection into the human mind and soul has resulted in his being called the "Columbus of the psyche," and because no language existed at the time to describe what he discovered on his voyages, he created his own mythology to describe what he found there (Damon ix). He was an accomplished poet, painter, and engraver.    Blake scholars disagree on whether or not Blake was a mystic. In the Norton Anthology, he is described as "an acknowledged mystic, [who] saw visions from the age of four" (Mack 783). Frye, however, who seems to be one of the most influential Blake scholars, disagrees, saying that Blake was a visionary rather than a mystic. "'Mysticism' . . . means a certain kind of religious techniques difficult to reconcile with anyone's poetry," says Frye (Frye 8). He next says that "visionary" is "a word that Blake uses, and uses constantly" and cites the example of Plotinus, the mystic, who experienced a "direct apprehension of God" four times in his life, and then only with "great effort and relentless discipline." He finally cites Blake's poem "I rose up at the dawn of day," in which Blake states,    I am in God's presence night & day, And he never turns his face away (Frye 9).    Besides all of these achievements, Blake was a social critic of his own time and considered himself a prophet of times to come. Frye says that "all his poetry was written as though it were about to have the immediate social impact of a new play" (Frye 4). His social criticism is not only representative of his own country and era, but strikes profound chords in our own time as well. As Appelbaum said in the introduction to his anthology English Romantic Poetry, "[Blake] was not fully rediscovered and rehabilitated until a full century after his death" (Appelbaum v). For Blake was not truly appreciated during his life, except by small cliques of individuals, and was not well-known during the rest of the nineteenth century (Appelbaum v).

Human Trafficking Essay

Human Trafficking is a crime that’s been rapidly rising and becoming a major issue all over the world. Human trafficking is the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy and ova removal. Human trafficking happens in many different forms. These forms of human trafficking mostly affect women and children. There are many forms of human trafficking. One of the many forms of human trafficking is sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation is the taking advantage of their sexuality and attractiveness of a person to make a personal gain or profit. Sexual exploitation has been going on for many years. Most women and children are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Poverty, gender-based discrimination and a history of sexual and physical violence are all factors that can make women and children vulnerable to traffickers. In most cases women and children are abducted and sold, some are deceived into consenting by the promise of a better life or a better job, and some feel that entrusting themselves to traffickers is the only economically viable option. These individuals held and exploited in slavery-like conditions once they are trapped. Most of these women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation suffer extreme violations of their human rights, including the right to liberty, the right to dignity and security of person, the right not to be held in slavery or involuntary servitude, the right to be free from cruel and inhumane treatment, the right to be free from violence, and the right to health. Human trafficking is a high-profit and low-risk endeavor for the traffickers. Traffickers have many tactics to prevent victims from escaping such as physical restraint in the form of locks and guards, physical or psychological violence, drugging or by instilling a fear of the police. The trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation has a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of victims, which could be long term and ultimately life-threatening. Forced labour is another form of human trafficking. Forced labour is any work or services which people are forced to do against their will under the threat of some form punishment. Forced labour is a global problem. The regional distribution of forced labour is: Asia and Pacific: 11. 7 million (56%), Africa: 3. 7 million (18%), Latin America and the Caribbean: 1. 8 million (9%), The Developed Economies (US, Canada, Australia, European Union, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Japan): 1. 5 million (7%) and the Middle East: 600,000 (3%). With increased possibilities for travelling and telecommunications, and with a growing demand for cheap labour in the developed world on the one hand, and increasingly restrictive visa regulations on the other, possible channels for legal labour migration have diminished. Private recruitment agencies, intermediaries and employers may take advantage of this situation and lure potential migrants into exploitative employment. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are at least 20. million people in forced labour worldwide. The figure means that, at any given point in time, around three out of every 1,000 persons worldwide are suffering in forced labour. Adults are more affected than children 74% (15. 4 million) of victims fall in the age group of 18 years and above, whereas children are 26% of the total (or 5. 5 million child victims). The state military is responsible for 10% of forced labour which mostly takes place in Burma, North Korea and China. Organ trade is another form of trafficking that’s has become an issue in other countries. Organ trade is the trade involving inner organs (heart, liver, kidneys, etc. ) of a human for transplantation. Trafficking in organs is a crime that occurs in three broad categories. Firstly, there are cases where traffickers force or deceive the victims into giving up an organ. Secondly, there are cases where victims formally or informally agree to sell an organ and are cheated because they are not paid for the organ or are paid less than the promised price. Thirdly, vulnerable persons are treated for an ailment, which may or may not exist and thereupon organs are removed without the victim’s knowledge. The vulnerable categories of persons include migrants, especially migrant workers, homeless persons, illiterate persons, etc. It is known that trafficking for organ trade could occur with persons of any age. Organs which are commonly traded are kidneys, liver and the like; any organ which can be removed and used, could be the subject of such illegal trade. Trafficking in organ trade is an organized crime, involving a host of offenders. The recruiter who identifies the vulnerable person, the transporter, the staff of the hospital/clinic and other medical centers, the medical professionals, the middlemen and contractors, the buyers, the banks where organs are stored are all involved in the racket. It is a fact that the entire racket is rarely exposed and therefore, the dimensions are yet to be appropriately fathomed. In conclusion, human trafficking is a global issue that has been going on for thousands of years. Governments all around the world should take control of these issues and try to better protect the women and children affected by human trafficking.

Constellations

Being asked most people would name the twelve constellations of the zodiac and some more they have heard of or even seen (most common is surely the Big Dipper, though it is not a constellation but an asterism). In total there are 88 constellations, which can be divided into eight constellation families (see Menzel, â€Å"A Field Guide to the Stars and Planetes†). Many names we use nowadays came from the ancient Greeks. They used to assign their gods and heroes to certain figures in the sky. Due to their northern location they only gave names to those regions visible from their countries.The regions around the celestial south pole got some of their names when the astronomer Johan Bayer made his notes about the south regions of the sky. He followed the tradition of the names of the ancient, mainly connected to the sea and its creatures. Later on the french astronomer La Caille added the last 13 to fill the star-poor regions between the existing groups. He finally broke with the traditional namegiving and used scientific equipment or instruments (there is only one exception, which is Mensa, the Table Mountain).It should be noted that although now common, this is only the western view of the star patterns. Noone knows when mankind start giving names to stars and grouping of stars. It is most likely that constellation names were invented by early sailors for navigation purposes. But also in the deserts they might have been a good help for the people to find their ways. Therefore its quite naturally that each culture grouped the stars differently and gave them names from their natural and social enviroment.The constellations of the zodiac we know nowadays reach back to the days of the Babylonians and Chaldeans, 2000 to 3000 years ago. Back then the sun passes through twelve constellations we still assign to the zodiac. But since these old days there have been several changes to the assignment of the stars. The sun is now passing through thirdteen constellation s along the ecliptic. After the sun left Scorpius in the last week of November it moves through Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, in December before reaching Sagittarius, the Archer, end of December.

H&M Hennes & Mauritz Ab in Retailing

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB in Retailing December 2009 Scope of the Report Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Scope †¢ This global company profile covers the following products focusing on the year 2009: Retailing: US$10,430 billion Store-based Retailing: US$9,829 billion Non-Store Retailing: US$601 billion Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers: US$791 billion Homeshopping: US$190 billion Internet Retailing: US$243 billionDisclaimer Much of the information in this briefing is of a statistical nature and, while every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy and reliability, Euromonitor International cannot be held responsible for omissions or errors Figures in tables and analyses are calculated from unrounded data and may not sum. Analyses found in the briefings may not totally reflect the companies’ opinions, reader discretion is advised Learn More To find out more about Euromonitor International's complete range of business ntelligence on industries, countries and consumers please visit www. euromonitor. com or contact your local Euromonitor International office: London + 44 (0)20 7251 8024 Vilnius +370 5 243 1577 Chicago +1 312 922 1115 Dubai +971 4 609 1340 Singapore +65 6429 0590 Cape Town +27 21 552 0037 Shanghai +86 21 63726288 Santiago +56 2 4332226 2 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 3 Strategic EvaluationRetailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Key Company Facts Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Headquarters Regional Involvement Stockholm, Sweden Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, North America, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa Clothing and footwear specialist retailers, homeshopping, internet retailing H robust performance in battle with Inditex †¢ The world’s second largest clothing and footwear Sector Inv olvement World clothing and footwear 1. 7% (2009) specialist retailers share 1. 5% (2008) Retail sales value growth (US$) -4. 1% (2009) 17. % (2008) specialist retailer in 2009, behind Inditex, and ahead of Gap, H continued to record strong sales growth in 2008 and 2009. This was achieved partly thanks to a strong performance in its largest market, Germany, with sales in local currency terms up by double-digits. †¢ Inditex’s and H battle for the world’s largest clothing and footwear retailer position is closely fought, while Gap, which was the world’s largest player in this channel until 2007, has been significantly left behind by the leading two. Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB – Sales excl.VAT vs Profit After Tax 90,000 SEK million 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Sales excl VAT Profit after tax 18,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 SEK million 16,000 H profits remain healthy †¢ H registered sales excluding VAT of S EK88. 5 billion (US$13. 7 billion) in 2008, an increase of 13% over the year, with profit after tax also up 13% to SEK15. 3 billion (US$2. 4 billion), which highlights the group’s high margin. †¢ Its major rival, Inditex, recorded revenue of EUR10. 4 billion (US$14. 5 billion) in 2008, up 10% on the previous year, with net profit up 0. % to EUR1. 3 billion (US$1. 8 billion). Gap registered sales of US$14. 5 billion, down 8% in the year, as it suffered from poor conditions in its core US market, though the company’s net profit grew by 16% to US$967 million, helped by cost savings. 4 Strategic Evaluation Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Q3 results: Resilient Performance, Continued Expansion Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB – Q1 to Q3 Sales excluding VAT (SEK billion) Profit after tax (SEK billion) Net margin (%) 73. 4 (2009) 62. 2 (2008) 10. 2 (2009) 10. 2 (2008) 13. 9 (2009) 16. (2008) Resilient performance, with sales driven by stor e network expansion †¢ H sales excluding VAT grew by 13% to SEK23. 6 billion (US$3. 4 billion) in the third quarter ending August 2009. Group profits after tax continued to rise, up by 4% to SEK3. 5 billion (US$506 million). †¢ However, same-store sales declined slightly in local currency terms, with consumer sentiment remaining subdued and hindering sales of non-grocery retailers, especially in the US, while the German market was resilient and strong gains were made in Italy. †¢ For the nine months to August 2009, sales were up by 18% to SEK73. billion (US$10. 6 billion), with growth boosted by new store openings. Profits after tax were up by 0. 2% to SEK10. 2 billion (US$1. 5 billion). Low inventory levels were a major factor contributing to keep costs down. Inditex records lower sales growth than H †¢ Inditex recorded revenues up by 7% to reach EUR4. 9 billion (US$7. 1 billion) in the six months to July 2009. Growth in Asia’s emerging markets continued to boost revenues, especially in China and Hong Kong, offsetting a negative economic environment in its Spanish domestic market where it saw a strong decline in like-for-like sales. Although impacted by the recession in Europe, Inditex’s profits were resilient, helped by efficient cost controls. The group recorded net income down by only 8% on the previous year to EUR375 million (US$550 million), despite sustained investments in network expansion. 5 Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB – Net Sales excl VAT vs Profit After Tax 75,000 72,500 70,000 SEK million 67,500 65,000 62,500 60,000 57,500 55,000 52,500 50,000 2008 Q1 to Q3 Net sales excl VAT 2009 Q1 to Q3 Profit after tax 12,000 11,500 SEK million 11,000 10,500 10,000 9,500 9,000 8,500 8,000Strategic Evaluation Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International SWOT – Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Brand recognition: low price and style Combining style innovations and low prices are staple attributes of the H br and on which it has built strong consumer recognition. High profile advertising and collaboration with designers help make stores shopping destinations and raise the desirability of its ranges. Operational efficiency A strong control of the whole logistics process helps H achieve low costs, while low inventory contributes to maintain margins.Reliance on outsourcing The reliance on production outsourcing, unlike other rivals such as Inditex, puts H at greater risks of damaging its reputation in terms of product quality and poor labour conditions in developed countries. Modest presence in emerging markets Despite being a global player present in 33 markets, H has developed its presence in Europe and North America mostly, unlike Inditex operating in over 70 countries including many emerging markets. Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities ThreatsInternet retailing The rapid growth of clothing and footwear sales through internet retailing is expected to continue and give H opportunities to r each a wider audience, especially in its core demographic target, teenagers and young adults, whose purchases are often influenced by the internet. Untapped potential in emerging markets Urbanisation, increased disposable incomes and changing lifestyles making the population more aware of fashion trends give major growth opportunities in large emerging markets such as China and Russia. There is also potential in markets where H is absent such as Turkey and Romania.Non-food expansion of grocery retailers Hypermarkets and mass merchandisers including Carrefour, Target, Tesco and Wal-Mart are set to continue developing their offer of non-food products and compete directly against H in the value segment of clothing and footwear retailing. Fast fashion becoming more competitive H faces a growing threat from a number of direct competitors with increasingly global ambitions at the low-priced end of the market such as Associated British Foods with Primark, Fast Retailing with Uniqlo and Mar ks & Spencer, alongside a resurgent Gap. 6 Strategic Evaluation Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Key Strategic Objectives and Challenges Speed to market and price strategy Fast product turnaround, flexibility and speed to market are major elements determining fast fashion retailers’ operational efficiency. H record is strong comparable to Inditex in most aspects, although Inditex has an advantage regarding speed to market, as a result of its vertical integration business model. In the midst of the global economic crisis particularly affecting clothing and footwear specialists, H chose to avoid heavy discounting in order to maintain its margins and profits.However, more aggressive price wars may force it to discount more and hit its margins. Ongoing international expansion with a focus on emerging markets H presence in emerging markets is less important than Inditex’s, which has a major store network in Latin America and more stores in the M iddle East and Africa. Expanding in emerging markets remains a priority for H, although growth prospects remain strong in developed markets such as Canada and the US where it can enter numerous new cities, especially in Southern States where it has a modest presence.H CEO KarlJohan Persson appointed in July 2009 restated the group’s global expansion targets, although it appears to be slower than expected, with around 160 new stores likely to be opened out of 225 initially planned for 2009. Maintain brand image and increase desirability Collaborations with designers will need to be continued and reinvented to make products more desirable, make stores more popular shopping destinations and strengthen the emotional bond with consumers and H.Distinctive store layout has been used successfully by Inditex with its Zara chain to convey the desirability of its clothes, and this is a strategy that H could also implement to make the store designs a more important aspect of its strategy . This could allow H to maintain an advantage over smaller rivals with increasing global ambitions for their brands such as Primark and Uniqlo. Late entry into internet retailing Although growth in internet retailing sales is particularly promising for clothing and footwear retailers, H has been a late entrant and will struggle to seize the opportunities offered by this channel.It has left numerous other retailers including pure play internet retailers such as Amazon and Asos and the homeshopping specialist Otto take a lead. Hence, it will be difficult for H to target these consumers and generate traffic to its websites, although it could rely on high-profile advertising and innovative sites to succeed. 7 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 8 Competitive Positioning Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International H Performs Strongly but Growth is Matched by Inditex †¢ International expansion and fashionable product assortment led to strong growth for H and its main rival Inditex, despite a marked slowdown in 2009 due to the global economic crisis and the strength of the US dollar. Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers – World – Retail Value RSP excl Sales Tax – US$ – % Year-on-Year Growth 28 24 20 16 12 8 4 0 -4 -8 -12 2005 % y-o-y growth A C B 2006 World C Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co INDITEX – Industria de Diseno Textil 2007 2008 Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Gap Inc, The 2009A – H sales record strong growth, on a par with C, thanks to global store network expansion. However, Inditex outperforms H thanks to more aggressive network expansion not only in Western Europe, but also in emerging markets. B – Gap under-performs its main rivals, hindered by a strong reliance on its low-growth domestic market and a less aggressive price s trategy than H. Gap’s image also suffers from a product assortment perceived as more staid than H and Inditex’s. C – The rise of the US dollar against other global currencies in 2009 is causing a fall in value sales for all retailers.H low-priced positioning and its wide global presence helps the company remain resilient in a challenging environment for non-grocery retailers. 9 Competitive Positioning Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Competitive Context: Inditex and H on the Rise World – Top 10 Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers 2005-2009 Company name INDITEX – Industria de Diseno Textil Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Gap Inc, The C Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co Ross Stores Inc Fast Retailing Co Ltd Shinamura Co Ltd Limited Brands Inc Benetton Group SpA Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp 5-year 2009 % 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 trend share ?Gap loses its crown †¢ Gap saw declining sales in 2007 3 3 2 1 1 1. 7 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2 1 4 6 8 12 5 11 2 1 4 6 8 14 5 12 3 1 4 5 8 11 7 10 2 3 4 5 6 11 7 8 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1. 7 1. 5 1. 4 0. 8 0. 8 0. 5 0. 5 0. 5 and 2008, due to unfavourable economic conditions in its US domestic market, which accounted for 81% of its global sales through the clothing and footwear specialists channel. †¢ Compared to H, Gap’s higher price positioning hindered its sales, especially in 2008 and 2009 as the global economic crisis dampened consumer spending. Fast Retailing and Shinamura rising Japan-based Fast Retailing posted a strong performance among the top ? 10 10 12 14 10 0. 4 10 global players, helped partly by the strengthening of the yen to the Note: 2009 provisional data US dollar. Competing with a similar price positioning to H, Fast Strong growth for H, overtakes Gap but is surpassed by Inditex Retailing expanded outside Japan, †¢ Strong sales growth for H over the 2005-2008 period enabled it to especially in China and South overtake key rival Gap . H business model based on low-priced fast Korea, and announced at the end of fashion proved highly popular with consumers. 008 its intentions to open stores in †¢ However, Inditex recorded a stronger performance than H, thanks to a European markets and in the US. more aggressive expansion strategy, especially in emerging markets. The latter was partly helped by a greater reliance on franchised outlets. Although †¢ As Japan’s second largest clothing and footwear retailer, Shinamura’s H new store opening strategy was also ambitious, its presence in ranking was also boosted by emerging markets remained modest compared to Inditex’s. avourable exchange rates, but also †¢ Inditex also benefited from a vertical integration business model enabling it to thanks to new store openings. renew collections more frequently than its main rivals, including H. 10 Competitive Positioning Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International H and Indi tex Neck-and-Neck †¢ H and Inditex have both been highly successful in the clothing and footwear specialists channel over the 2004- 2009 period. Their positioning based on low-priced fast fashion enables them to appeal to a wide range of consumers, especially since 2008 and with the major world economies entering recession.Their fast fashion business model also gives the two players the flexibility to change collections rapidly to adapt to consumer tastes, although Inditex has the edge over H in this respect. †¢ International network expansion was also a major part in driving sales of both companies, although Inditex has a greater presence in emerging markets, especially thanks to a wide reach in Latin America. Thanks to its greater reliance on franchising, new market entry requires fewer resources and entails less risk for Inditex than for H, which is more biased towards company-owned outlets. Although both companies saw their World – Retailing Sales 2004-2009 reta il sales in US dollar terms hit by the fall in the value of the euro 15,000 against the US dollar, they retained their lead over Gap. The latter’s 12,500 strong dependence on the US market proved a disadvantage, as it suffered 10,000 disproportionately from the recession in its domestic market in 2008 and 7,500 2009, which it could not offset with expansion in emerging markets, where it remains absent. ,000 †¢ In addition, Gap adopted a less aggressive pricing strategy than its 2,500 peers, thus losing share rapidly to H and Inditex, but also to players 0 in other channels in the US such as 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 mass merchandisers Target and WalHennes & Mauritz (H) AB INDITEX – Industria de Diseno Textil Mart. Retail value sales rsp excl tax (US$ mn) 11 Competitive Positioning Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Overall Stagnation in Sales per OutletWorld – Top 10 Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers – Sales per Outlet 2004-2009 – US$ Fixed Exchange Rates Company name INDITEX – Industria de Diseno Textil Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Gap Inc, The C Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co Ross Stores Inc Fast Retailing Co Ltd Shinamura Co Ltd Limited Brands Inc Benetton Group SpA Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp Note: 2009 provisional data 2004 3,130,909 7,103,455 5,233,467 7,658,816 6,571,607 5,663,966 3,168,427 2,541,956 916,038 8,482,203 2005 3,222,196 7,072,943 4,976,290 7,435,090 6,719,945 4,185,028 3,129,442 2,686,424 911,815 9,062,259 2006 3,245,793 7,102,853 4,882,942 7,276,803 6,967,172 3,720,254 3,222,800 2,799,494 896,071 9,090,081 2007 3,374,326 7,194,397 4,648,360 7,195,536 7,136,890 3,884,908 3,196,295 2,778,019 913,342 9,032,800 2008 3,291,002 7,279,016 4,180,204 6,979,826 6,784,922 4,520,068 3,201,177 2,636,235 949,993 8,904,762 2009 3,267,473 7,303,864 3,753,935 6,843,244 7,238,611 5,203,178 3,163,917 2,543,005 960,191 8,068,446 % growth 2004/2009 4. 4 2. 8 -28. 3 -10. 6 10. 1 -8. 1 -0. 1 0. 0 4. 8 -4. 9Modest growth in sales per outlet for most players, including H †¢ The growth trend in sales per outlet broadly matches the trends in overall sales growth for the top four global retailers, with H and Inditex outperforming C and Gap. Higher sales per outlet for H compared to Inditex largely reflects H larger average outlet size. †¢ Downward price pressure and prevalent discounting in apparel retailing, accompanied by the growing reliance on production outsourcing to low labour cost countries in the clothing industry, contributed to the stagnation or slight decline in sales per outlet for most retailers, especially for C and Fast Retailing. Sharp contraction for Gap †¢ Gap’s higher-priced positioning and its relative resistance to discounting led to a sharp drop in sales per outlet, as it pted to maintain its margins at the expense of overall sales growth. 12 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Str ategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 13 Geographic Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International A Global Player Still Dependent on Western Europe †¢ Among H top 10 global markets in 2009, all of them were located in Western Europe apart from one, the US. This highlights the company’s modest presence in emerging markets. Western Europe will account for 84% of the group’s sales in 2009.This proportion exceeded 90% in 2005, which illustrates H relative success in expanding its presence globally in order to offset the maturity and saturation in Western Europe’s clothing and footwear retailing. †¢ The company’s largest market, Germany, will account for 26% of world sales in 2009. No other market had a share of global sales exceeding 10%, while the domestic market, Sweden, accounts for 5%, which shows that H is not overly dependent on the economy of a single market. In comparison to H, Inditex is more dependent on its domestic market, which will generate 37% of its world sales in 2009. Both companies seek to extend their global reach, especially in emerging markets, although Inditex has a clear lead in this respect.Hence, H operates in 33 markets as of October 2009, compared to around 70 markets for Inditex. Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB – Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers (Company's 10 Largest Markets) 2. 0 1. 5 %CAGR 2009-2014 Netherlands Norway Spain 1. 0 Austria 0. 5 Sweden 0. 0 -0. 5 -1. 0 -1. 5 -2. 0 -2. 5 0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 Market Size 2009 (US$ mn) 125,000 150,000 175,000 France Switzerland USA Opportunity Zone Germany United Kingdom Bubble size shows company sales in market, range displayed: US$536 – 3,497 mn 14 Geographic Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Western Europe: Ongoing Expansion for H&M and Inditex H& M has a wide presence covering most Western European markets, in which its two main competitors are Inditex and C&A. All three companies have seen their share increase over the 2004-2009 period at the expense of smaller players, especially those with a national presence only. †¢ The shares of H&M and Inditex were driven by aggressive continuous network expansion across most markets. H&M has seen major ongoing store network expansion in most major European markets in 2008 and 2009, especially in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Its business model has proved to be relatively recession-proof, thanks to its low prices. †¢ C&A has been distanced by the two largest operators.Positioned as a value retailer targeted at families, C&A lost ground thanks to a less fashionable image and an inferior international presence. The company is absent from major European markets including Italy and the UK, and over 50% of its sales in Western Europe are derived from the German market . Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers: Retail Value RSP excl Sales Tax – Company Shares by GBO 4 % value share 3 2 1 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 14 12 % value share 10 Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB Company Shares – Top 6 Markets – Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers – Retail Value RSP excl Sales Tax 8 6 4 2 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 C&A Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB INDITEX – Industria de Diseno Textil France Netherlands SwedenGermany Spain United Kingdom 15 Geographic Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Western Europe: Primark Emerges as New Major Player Primark expends beyond the British Isles to emerge as a new European player †¢ Primark, owned by Associated British Foods, only recently expanding outside Ireland and the UK with its first outlets in Spain in 2008 and Portugal and test stores in Germany and the Netherlands in 2009, has ambitions to develop a wid e pan-European network. A new market entry is planned in Belgium in 2010. The success recorded by its first stores in Spain indicates that it could become a major Europe-wide player. With a strong brand image based on low prices and trendy collections following fashion trends closely, Primark targets teenagers and young adults, thus competing directly against H&M in terms of demographic and price positioning. Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers – Western Europe and United KingdomRetail Value RSP excl Sales Tax – Company Shares by GBO 6 5 % value share 4 3 2 1 0 WE – Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB WE – Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) 2005 2006 2007 UK – Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB 2008 2009 UK – Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) 16 Geographic Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Recent and Planned Market Entries: Japan, South Korea †¢ Although geographic expansion has been a central feature o f H&M’s strategy, it has focused until recently on Europe nd North America, in contrast to Inditex venturing in several markets in Latin America and Asia Pacific and C&A’s major presence in Brazil. Recent new market entries in Japan in September 2008 and the planned entry in South Korea in spring 2010 confirm H&M’s adoption of a strategy to be less dependent on Europe and North America. Successful new entry in Japan in 2008 †¢ With its first store in the upmarket shopping district of Ginza in Tokyo, H&M’s market entry was successful. Initial reception was very favourable to the new chain, with around 50,000 shoppers visiting the Ginza store over the first week of opening, and a second Tokyo store was opened in November 2008 in the trendy district of Harajuku. The Harajuku outlet was the first H&M worldwide to sell the fashion labelComme des Garcons, with a collection designed by the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo. This strategy helped create anticipa tion ahead of the new store opening among fashion-conscious consumers and gives H&M a more exclusive image in Japan than it has in other markets. †¢ Two more outlets in Tokyo are planned by the end of 2009 and a fifth is due to open in 2010, in Osaka. In order to expand faster in the mature Japanese market and to match the scale of its larger rival Inditex, H&M is considering acquisitions to be a possible expansion strategy. Intense price competition in Japan †¢ In a market hit by severe recession in 2009, price competition for clothing and footwear items has intensified. This as highlighted by mass merchandiser chains Justo (Aeon), Ito-Yokado (Seven & I) and Seiyu (Wal-Mart) starting to offer jeans at around ? 1,000 in 2009. Among H&M’s most direct competitors in terms of price and image, the dynamic player Fast Retailing with the Uniqlo chain combining low price and fashionable ranges, followed a similar price move in 2009. However, regardless of price H&M has an advantage in terms of fast fashion in being able to source and offer new products and refresh its collection more frequently than Fast Retailing. South Korea – following in the footsteps of Inditex †¢ Following its successful entry in Japan, H&M plans to open its first outlet in South Korea in March 2010 at a flagship store in Seoul’s business district of Myungdong.In a market less saturated than Japan’s and with fewer major international clothing and footwear specialist chains, H&M is expected to be successful. However, similarly to Japan, H&M enters after Inditex has already established a footprint in 2007 and expanded rapidly since. 17 Geographic Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Further Growth in Large Emerging Markets: China, Russia †¢ With little presence in emerging markets, H&M is attempting to catch up with rivals, especially by expanding in large emerging markets, especially in China and Russia. Ongoing expansion in China to continue †¢ Following market entry in Hong Kong in 2007, H&M expanded rapidly in 2008 and 2009 with new stores in mainland China.Sales in China accounted for almost 1% of global sales in 2009. The first outlet in Beijing was opened in April 2009 south of Tiananmen Square, with H&M becoming the first foreign retailer to be present in this newly renovated part of the city. In order to create more anticipation around the store opening among consumers, it coincided with the launch of a new collection in collaboration with the designer Matthew Williamson. H&M’s presence in China is expected to continue expanding rapidly through new store openings, both in existing cities and by entering new cities where it can target the rapidly growing number of middle-class urban consumers. Among H&M’s global rivals, although Inditex expanded in China and Hong Kong earlier than H&M and has a stronger presence with more outlets, it has a less developed su pplier network in Asia than H&M, and as a result it can struggle to offer competitive prices to compete against H&M and also against local players, which may lead to the adoption a more differentiated positioning than in other markets. †¢ With Gap planning to enter China in 2010, it is likely that a greater number of international clothing and footwear specialist retailers will enter the market. Competing in a similar price segment to H&M, Fast Retailing announced at the end of 2008 its long-term objective to have 100 Uniqlo outlets in China. Russia – untimely entry but sound long-term prospects †¢ H&M opened its first store in Russia in Moscow in March 2009. However, suffering from a fall in gas and oil revenues, the country’s deep recession in 2009 is worse than previously anticipated and makes H&M’s market entry untimely.Rival Inditex has developed a major presence in Russia over several years, which has allowed the group to take advantage of the bo oming economy until 2008 to expand and establish a wide customer base. Longer term, H&M is set to emerge from the recession relatively unscathed thanks to its low-priced positioning and to have major growth prospects. Key point: With no presence in Latin America unlike C&A and Inditex, H&M could benefit from entering the large markets of Brazil and Mexico where its low prices should help build a major customer base. 18 Geographic Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Franchise Deals Give New Middle East Opportunities Middle East and Africa expansion set to gather pace †¢ H&M’s presence in the main Middle East market, the United Arab Emirates, continued to increase rapidly in 2009 hanks to the franchise agreement signed in 2006 with the Kuwait-based company MH Alshaya Group. †¢ Opting to expand through franchise stores and using a similar growth model as Inditex represents a major new development in H&M’s global expan sion strategy in emerging markets, which is likely to help accelerate its global expansion. †¢ Thanks to the partnership with Alshaya Group, H&M entered the markets of Bahrain and Oman in 2009, and also opened its first two stores in Egypt in the second half of the year. H&M is likely to enter other new markets in the Middle East and Africa by the end of 2009, or in 2010, including Lebanon. †¢ Under another franchise deal signed with the local company Match Retail, H&M plans to enter Israel in 2010.Dedicated store concept for Saudi Arabia †¢ As store concept adaptation is an important ingredient in the success for foreign retailers operating in the Middle East and Africa, and require close attention, franchise partners are in a better position than H&M to implement new concepts. †¢ For example, in order to comply with local sharia law that forces shops to have segregated areas for men and for women, for its market entry in Saudi Arabia in autumn 2008, H&M opted t o adapt its store concept to be only open to women and staffed by women. 19 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic OpportunitiesCategory Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 20 Category Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Modest Growth Forecast for H&M’s Main Channel †¢ H&M’s sales through the clothing and footwear specialist retailers channel will account for around 97% of its sales in 2009. This channel is forecast to record modest growth over the 2009-2014 period. While channel sales were hindered by the global economic crisis in 2008 and 2009, they are likely to recover to some extent, although they will remain affected by low price pressures on clothing prevailing within this distribution channel as well as in other channels.H&M has stronger prospects than most other clothing and footwear specialist players thanks to its wide international presence and low-cost and flexible business model allowing the group to undercut most rivals while remaining at the forefront of fashion trends. †¢ The remainder of H&M’s sales is accounted for almost equally by homeshopping and internet retailing, although the latter is increasingly supplanting the former, mirroring the wider industry trend. Expanding internet retailing presence will help offset the growing saturation of clothing and footwear retailing. Unlike Inditex, which is also present in the furniture and furnishings stores channel in a number of markets under the Zara Home brand, H&M does not operate other store-based formats. Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB – Global Retailing Presence & Prospects by Channel 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 0 100,000 Internet retailing % CAGR 2009-2014Clothing & footwear specialist retailers Homeshopping 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 Market Size 2009 (US$ million) 700,000 800,000 900,000 Bubble size shows company sales in this channel (2009). Range displayed: US$169 – 13,118 million 21 Category Opportunities Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Battling Against Hypermarkets and Mass Merchandisers Grocery retailers and mass merchandisers increase price pressure on clothing and footwear specialists †¢ Clothing and footwear specialist retailers are increasingly seeing more intense competition from rivals operating †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ mostly in other store-based channels, such as mass merchandisers and hypermarkets.As H&M is positioned in the low-priced segment in clothing and footwear retailing, it is vulnerable to the direct competition from these channels and needs to cultivate its clear competitive advantage in terms of fashion and desirability. An example of the intensifying competition affecting clothing and footwear retailers is the price war between Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) and mass merchandisers Aeon (Jusco) and Wal -Mart (Seiyu) in Japan to sell jeans at around ? 1,000 in 2009. In the US, Gap’s sales have been eroded by the success of mass merchandiser Target’s aggressively priced clothing ranges. In Western Europe, the expansion of major hypermarket operators including Auchan, Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-Mart into non-food products is set to continue as they seek to improve margins.Although this trend has slowed down to some extent in 2008 and 2009 due to the global economic crisis, with grocery retailers refocusing at least temporarily on more recession-proof food items, the longer-term trend is expected to see hypermarkets attempting to be more competitive in their offer of clothing and footwear, with more appealing ranges to compete more directly against specialist non-grocery retailers. In the UK, Wal-Mart’s Asda chain, thanks to the increased sales of its George apparel range in 2009, threatens to overtake Marks & Spencer and Associated British Foods’ Primark cha in to become the country’s largest clothing retailer. Tesco saw clothing sales improve in the first half of 2009 alongside growth in non-food sales, up by 8%. Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s is planning to increase space allocated to non-food ranges in 2010 and 2011 and widen the reach of its successful TU range of clothes by offering it at more stores. 22 Category OpportunitiesRetailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Internet Retailing: H&M’s Late Entry H&M and Inditex both rise to the challenge and plan to develop internet retailing †¢ Beyond store-based rivals, clothing and footwear specialist retailers are increasingly battling against internet retailers and most of them react by developing or expanding their own online retailing activity. With consumers’ familiarity with ordering online generally on the rise, coupled with efforts from internet retailers to make their websites more visually appealing and user-friendly, consumersà ¢â‚¬â„¢ confidence in ordering clothes via the internet has been strongly boosted. Major homeshopping retailers which are also leading players in clothing, for example, Otto, are increasingly moving online. Similarly, H&M’s homeshopping sales in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and the Nordic countries are gradually migrating to internet retailing. The company’s significant experience in homeshopping in these markets prepares it well to tackle the logistics aspects to make internet retailing operations efficient across European markets. †¢ Both Inditex and H&M made announcements in 2009 indicating that they are gradually joining the fray and expanding online in most European markets. Inditex will start operations in major European markets by early 2010, while H&M will launch its website in autumn 2010 in the UK.Thanks to its wide product assortment, the vast choice increases H&M’s chances of success in internet retailing although this requires the site to be d esigned in a way to be easy to navigate. †¢ However, H&M is a late entrant in the channel and appears to have made a protracted move, with a plethora of major other operators including Amazon, Asos, the John Lewis Partnership, Marks & Spencer and Tesco having already obtained a strong foothold in UK online clothes retailing. Rival Gap also plans to launch its own website in the UK, following its earlier initiative in 2009 to sell its products on the Asos. com website. In the US, Gap has a multibrand website and offers combined delivery on cross-brand orders.Aggressive expansion from internet retailing specialists and grocery retailers †¢ Major grocery retailers have high ambitions for online clothes sales, as shown by Tesco’s relaunch of its UK clothing website in September 2009 offering private label and brands, and with Wal-Mart’s Asda offering the George label at Asda Direct since 2008. Websites of grocery retailers also often offer the added convenience o f click-and-collect services. Among specialist internet retailers, Amazon’s acquisition of the US online clothes retailer Zappos for US$850 million in August 2009 signals its ambitions in apparel retailing, and its low prices and high number of visits from customers give it key competitive advantages.Key point: With internet retailing making price comparisons between retailers easier, H&M should focus on advertising its low prices and promotions on its transactional website, while also emphasising the more fashionable design of its clothes in order to differentiate its website from Amazon and the grocery retailers. 23 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 24 Brand and Operational Strategies Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International H&M: A Widely Recognised Global Brand Strong brand a wareness and image †¢ H&M’s strong brand image is associated with value and stylish collections, helped by the collaborations with famous designers. The latest example is the creation of the Jimmy Choo collection to be launched in November 2009.Such events create a great amount of publicity and media coverage to generate added footfall. †¢ In a similar way to Inditex, H&M relies on opening stores at a few flagship locations in major cities in order to build its brand image. Examples of such stores include the Harajuku store in Tokyo and the Champs Elysees store in Paris planned for 2010. †¢ Highlighting the H&M brand’s high level of awareness, it was ranked 21st among the top 100 most valuable global brands according to Interbrand in 2009, with a value exceeding US$15 billion. In comparison, Zara ranked only 50, while Gap came in at number 78. High-profile advertising with celebrities is widely used by H&M, unlike Inditex.H&M spends around 5% of its reve nues on advertising. H&M Brand geographic Asia Pacific, Eastern involvement Europe, Middle East and Africa, North America, Western Europe Brand channels Clothing & footwear specialist retailers World ranking & share 1 and 1. 6% (2009) in clothing and footwear specialist retailers Multi-brand approach from Inditex †¢ In sharp contrast to H&M’s almost exclusive Brands other than H&M gain greater importance †¢ The more upmarket COS successfully launched in the UK in 2007 enabling the group to target wealthier customers and potentially increase its margins. It was subsequently extended to other markets: Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The Swedish chain Monki, acquired in 2008 and known for its sophisticated and colourful store designs, is not being rebranded and was expanded outside Sweden in 2009 with two stores in Denmark. This should allow H&M to diversify its customer base. reliance on its eponymous brand, Inditex has adopted a strategy based on build ing a vast brand portfolio including Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Zara and Zara Home. †¢ The key competitive advantages resulting from this company’s multi-brand strategy is its ability to target a wide range of consumer groups with brands and products tailored to various tastes in order to bring exclusivity and differentiation. The level of independence of the company’s major brands is also an important aspect of Inditex’s capacity to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Group synergies are ensured thanks to the group's vertical integration, which also contrasts with H strategy of outsourcing. 25 Brand and Operational Strategies Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Operations and Private Label Strategies Production outsourcing vs.. vertical integration †¢ H sources around 70% of its product assortment from Asia and over one third is purchased from China. It relies heavily on outsourcing production, with over 21 production offices worldwide (10 in Europe, 10 in Asia and 1 in Africa) liaising with over 750 factories.In contrast, Inditex sources the majority of its products from Europe, and most of its production is made in-house in order to cut the time lag between product design and in-store availability. †¢ Although production in Asia helps H undercut Inditex on price, it also makes it more vulnerable to currency fluctuations, with the value of the US dollar strengthening in 2009 against European currencies and making imports from Asia more expensive in its main market, Europe. This reduced at least temporarily the scale of its competitive advantage over Inditex. Low inventory levels †¢ H operational efficiency is reflected in the level of inventory being usually low thanks to the frequent renewal of its collection.However, the focus on reducing inventory in order to protect margins has been detrimental to sales in some months in 2009, especially over the summer, when the company had relatively few items available for markdowns. Although H generally achieves low inventory costs, it is likely to be often surpassed by Inditex in this respect. As one of the pioneers of the fast fashion business model with new ranges being introduced every two weeks, Inditex is particularly efficient in incorporating feedback from stores daily into the development of new products, thanks to vertical integration and as such, H cannot replicate this model. Private label ranges under various names †¢ All of H product assortment consists exclusively of private label. Private label ranges have various names to arget different genders and customer types. For example, Hennes is targeted at 25-35 year-old women, L. O. G. G. is a casual sportswear label and MAMA is a maternity range. Key point: As European consumers’ awareness of ethical issues increases, H is vulnerable to negative publicity surrounding working conditions at factories producing its clothes in Asia. Since it outsources a greater share of its products from Asia than Inditex and has less control over its supply chain, H auditing of factories must be strict and transparent to limit the chances of poor labour conditions being publicised and tarnishing its brand reputation. 26 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 27 Recommendations Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Key Recommendations Develop more premium chains alongside core low-priced offering †¢ H focus on affordability remains Internet retailing to be differentiated and wide-reaching †¢ As H is a late entrant in the New market entries and expansion in existing markets †¢ Entering into new emerging a core element of its success and contributed to make the retailer resilient in a recessionary economic environment. Alth ough its low-priced and fashionable image with its eponymous brand H should not be jeopardised, in addition to cultivating it, the retailer should also attempt to widen its customer base and especially target wealthier consumers with its other banners such as COS and Monki stores offering edgy fashion. This could also help increase profits once the economy recovers and consumers become less cost-conscious. internet retailing arena in most European markets and arrives in a crowded and competitive market where Amazon and Otto have made inroads, it will need to offer innovative transactional websites that can convey effectively the textures, colours and finish of its clothes in order to differentiate its offer but still highlight the low prices. H presence in internet retailing could also be extended to markets where it does not seek to open physical stores, mirroring the example of Marks & Spencer delivering products to around 80 countries since autumn 2009. markets, especially in nei ghbouring markets to those where it operates, offers considerable growth opportunities for H. †¢ Romania and Turkey are large European markets where the store concept is likely to be popular and where rival Inditex has developed a major store network. In Latin America, Mexico offers opportunities in the value segment of clothing and footwear retailing. Although it is well covered by C and Wal-Mart, H can cater for more fashionconscious consumer groups. In Asia Pacific, H burgeoning presence could accelerate by expanding to new cities, especially in China and Japan. In the latter market, new store concepts and collections or new banners such as COS and Monki could be tested. 28 Retailing – Hennes & Mauritz  © Euromonitor International Experience more†¦ This research from Euromonitor International is part of a global strategic intelligence system which offers a complete picture of the commercial environment . Also available from Euromonitor International: Global Bri efings The state of the market globally and regionally, emerging trends and pressing industry issues: timely, relevant insight published every month. Global Company ProfilesThe competitive positioning and strategic direction of the leading companies including uniquely sector-specific sales and share data. Country Market Insight Reports The key drivers influencing the industry in each country; comprehensive coverage of supply-side and demand trends and how they shape the future outlook. 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