Topic Summary-Terence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Topic Summary-Terence - Essay Example ERP systems are designed to ensure an organisation can carry out several functions in a simple way that is convenience to the organisation. The choice of ERP as a work information system of study was motivated by the need to understand how organisations can work out their functions using simpler cost effective methods that can guarantee high returns. It is important to understand that the ERP system as used by organisations, enables them to integrate their internal, as well as external information systems into single and comprehensive solutions that fit in their activities and work schedules (Atherton 2012; Shaul & Tauber 2012). Through research in organisations online platforms and journals, I came to an understanding that the ERP strategy for business management includes all the organizations’ practical systems used in the management of their basic commercial duties that include; purchasing, finance, inventory management among many others in their daily life. This made me curious to understand the main objectives designed in the ERP tool, actually, its main objective as concerns this research, is to enhance information flow in all an organization’s internal functions while at the same time, creating and managing connections to with its external stakeholders. Knowledge is a single tool that is central to the success and failure of many large and small enterprises and business organizations. An organisation that has a database of key knowledge is always in a better position to understand market dynamics, customer behavior and other important characteristics of the business environment (Chu & Chiu 2013). The organisation then uses this knowledge to enhance its effectiveness and success in the market, on the other hand; an organisation that lacks this knowledge as well as gathering systems fails in its attempts to grow. For this reason, knowledge management is an activity that spurs

Strong vs Weak Matrix Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strong vs Weak Matrix Structure - Essay Example The study indicates that weak matrix organizations are no less than a nightmare for project managers. This is true because although, they have the authority and power to make plans, divide the project strategy and even closely monitor the execution as well, project managers do not have any real authority over the project team members, most of whom remain reliant on their functional managers for provision and use of resources. Therefore, in these organizations, technically the project managers do not remain â€Å"managers† in the truest sense but their role is reduced to that of project â€Å"facilitators†. Project managers within a weak matrix organization often fail to motivate their employees to the utmost degree because of the fact that they have little loyalty to the project managers and little motivation to work on the project. They are well aware of the fact that they the chain of command indicates that they report to their functional managers who decide their pro motions, achievements and write their annual reviews. Project managers might have to report and discuss the issue of non-performing employees with the functional managers and then hope that the functional managers will help. Some project managers, despite all difficulties, successfully complete their projects in weak matrix organizations but it becomes nearly impossible to attain any kind of success for the project manager when the functional managers decide to obstruct the work and oppose the approaches of project managers. In this case, they might not allow project managers to use resources and prevent their employees from working with full productivity on projects, thus making the life of the project managers miserable. Figure 1 Weak Matrix Structure with project team members scattered in many functional departments and working under primary authority of their respective functional managers Strong matrix organizations provide a better framework and structure for project managers to operate. In fact, it appears that strong matrix organizations emerged on to the scene primarily in order to satisfy the needs of project managers. Rather than leaving the project managers at the mercy of different functional managers, the organization empowers the project managers so that they could exercise their authority over budgets, resources, expenses and even employee appraisals (Lewis, p. 106). Employees are more likely to report to two bosses at the same time, one their functional managers and the second their project manager but they see the incentive in being equally loyal to both of them. Project managers remain concerned with the project related issues of the employees whereas all the human resource and operational issues and responsibilities remain with the functional managers who overlook them. In these types of organizations, there is even a different department of project managers, which reports to a head project manager holding tremendous authority within the au thority (Daft & Willmott, p. 36). In strong matrix organisations, project managers would usually draw up plans about the projects and then contact the functional managers about their needs and demands in terms of employees. Important here to note is that when functional managers and project manager negotiate, it is highly likely that project manager would have an upper hand (Cameron & Quinn, p. 309). A potential pitfall in these types of organizations is that with extreme power of project managers, functional managers might find it troublesome to perform the necessary functions for keeping the organization afloat and running. Furthermore, a great deal of training is required to ensure that employees do not confuse the dual chain of command where they have to report to two bosses and maintain between their functional and project duties. In addition, constantly and quickly changing projects and new team members may also

Fast Food Driven Society Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Driven Society Essay In a recent documentary film I’ve seen called, â€Å"Super-Size Me,† it was stated that in the past 20-25 years, obesity levels in America have doubled. Why you may wonder? Many factors contribute to the way we live in our society today, but the main reason for obesity levels being so high is the fast food industry and its effects on everyone it comes in contact with. Anyone who has ever had junk food in their life know its addicting features. Seeing it everywhere you go whether you are at a grocery store, fast food restaurant, or on TV doesn’t help stop the urges in anyone’s case. Fast food is convenient, cheap, and is what the average American family would choose to eat. Obesity is an ongoing problem in the United States today, and if it cannot be stopped, this problem could potentially be passed down from generation to generation. The reason America has allowed this to happen is because of the way society portrays how to live and eat in this world, how Americans have adapted in a way where they heavily rely on fast food for convenience purposes, and the individual’s lack of effort in living a healthy lifestyle. Every woman in America once in their lives has seen or bought a magazine. What do you see on the cover? A skinny, beautiful model or celebrity, and a tagline on how to lose more weight or how to eat healthier in order for you to look more like the picture. Everywhere you go society portrays a certain way woman should look that is acceptable in this world. I strongly believe that one of the reasons that obesity has struck America so negatively is because society has pushed the woman in this country over the edge on how they ‘should’ look. â€Å"For many women, compulsive eating and being fat have become one way to avoid being marketed or seen as the ideal woman: My fat says ‘screw you’ to all who want me to be the perfect mom, sweetheart, and maid. Take me for who I am, not for who I am supposed to be† (Orbach, pg. 452). This quote comes from the article, â€Å"Fat is a Feminist Issue,† and it heavily relates to why obesity is still an ongoing issue in the United States. Susie Orbach strongly explains how fat expresses a rebellion against how women feel powerless because of all of the pressure to look and even act a certain way. Society has even changed the way women should look over and over again throughout the years (pg. 452). This in my opinion puts more pressure on the women because they are constantly changing their image and even their body in order to fit in. This topic alone, has a huge impact on why a lot of people are overweight in the world. Now a days, people want to be what they want and not what society wants. Since society hasn’t given woman and everyone else a break on what they expect from them, obesity has increased and a rebellion on body image is its result. If society would stop stressing how to look and act, people might want to start to do things for themselves and not for the ‘betterment’ of society. In my experience, I can honestly say that being a women in society today is difficult. Yes I do eat what I want when I want, but I do watch my body image. Half of the reason is because it makes me feel better as a person when I look and eat healthy, but the other half is because I know society would qualify me as someone who would fit in. You could say that society has gotten to me, but I do feel great when I eat healthy and when I look healthy. In my nutrition class, I learned that junk food is very low in satiation value, this means that people don’t feel as full when eating them, which tends to lead to overeating. These two factors relate to why people choose to go to a fast food restaurant. Americans don’t realize the negative effects it has on their mind and body. Not only is that a factor, but the taste also plays a huge part too. A lot of great tasting foods are bad for you, which just happens to be the disappointing truth that many people disregard. All anyone wants is to find good food that is affordable in this world right? That is what makes fast food so convenient!! In the article, â€Å"Don’t Blame the Eater,† David Zinczenko makes a good point about fast food. â€Å"Lunch and dinner for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. Then as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal† (pg. 391-392). Everything he stated is true for the average American family, why wouldn’t you stop at a fast food restaurant if you are tight on money and time. When I was a kid, sports was a big part of my life†¦but time and money was also tight in my family because my two younger sisters also played sports. We stopped for fast food whenever was convenient for us on and off the road. At the time, it was almost like I was being treated when we stopped for fast food. Little did I know the only reason we got fast food was because it was affordable and reliable. Even now to this day, it is hard for me not to stop at a fast food restaurant every once in a while. I don’t go as much as I used to, but it is still convenient and it always will be. Just like Zinczenko was saying, whether we like it or not, fast food surrounds us and lures us into its traps. We have the choice to escape it or embrace it. The individual has this decision alone. Society plays its parts in luring, but it is ultimately your own decision in the end. In the article, â€Å"Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating,† Mary Maxfield heavily stresses how it is the individual’s ultimate decision on what to eat and how much of it to eat. I could not agree more with her article, even though society does its job in persuading, it is the individual who is left with the decision because it is their body. Maxfield states, â€Å". what a person eats [rarely] takes primacy over how they eat it†¦.. in essence, we can eat as we always have- which includes eating for emotional and social reasons and still survive or even thrive† (pg. 445). What she is saying is that no matter what social interactions stand in someone’s way, they are the ones who decide what and how much to eat. You must trust yourself, trust your body and meet your own needs (Maxfield, pg. 446). Personally, there are days where I know I need to cut down on the junk food and focus on drinking water and eating foods with nutritional value. That is because I have the motivation and drive to do so. Many Americans do not have this motivation and drive. This is what is increasing the obesity levels in America. People do not know what is too much, and do not know when to stop. So in return, they are putting themselves more at risk for the chronic diseases that obesity has to offer. In the end, the individual has the power to decide what is best for them. If everyone started to make healthy life decisions, obesity levels could slowly start to decrease, and the world could have a more restored environment. We need to start by educating our children about the smart and healthy life alternatives they can make and continue to educate their parents as well. In turn, we can decrease the many factors that have led our country to where it is today†¦. a fast food driven, obese and lazy society.

Tesco Plc: Business and Financial Performance Analysis

Tesco Plc: Business and Financial Performance Analysis This Research and Analysis Project report concentrated on the Business and Financial performance of Tesco Plc over a three year period from 2008 to 2010. The analysis report throws more lights on the operational and financial performance of Tesco Plc by having regard to its business strategy. One of its major rivals in the industry which is J. Sainsburys Plc has been used as a benchmark in order to compare Tesco plc performance. REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPIC This topic was selected because there has been much and extreme competition in the retail supermarket industry in recent times. With most of these businesses having to compete for their share of the market. Most them are thinking and aiming of becoming a market leader one. But at the heat of this competition is the issue of survival and going concern which is at the centre of every these retail businesses since failure to consider them could result to total collapse of their entire operations. To this end I decided to investigate Tesco which is one of the UKs most successful and also one of the worlds biggest retail supermarkets to find out how it has operated so far and to see the level of it business and financial success over the last three year period. REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS ORGANISATION Tesco plc was chosen because it has become one of the worlds biggest retail supermarkets in recent times. Considering the size of its market share compare to most of its major competitors, the company has grown so rapidly thereby increasing in profitability. Therefore I wanted to find out whether or not the profitability levels have come as a result of its rapid and consistent growth, since growth and profitability do not always move hand in hand. I also wanted to know more about the companys strategy which has seen it expand so quickly and rapidly than its rivals do. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT The main aims and objectives of this project are to analyse the business and financial performance of Tesco plc. It should be noted that most companies are not managed and directed by their owners (shareholders) but rather appoint Directors and entrust in their hands with stewardship of their investments. Therefore it is appropriate for these Directors to account to these owners the stewardship of those investments entrusted in their care. Shareholders and stakeholders of every company including Tesco plc will like to know whether or not their investments and interest are been managed properly since this will help them decide whether to sell off their shares or keep them and even invest more. Stakeholders alike may also want to know the companys performance, progress and its success in order to take an informed decisions. The project will find out whether Tesco plcs shareholders are properly rewarded for their investments and risks they have taken or not. And also to ascertain how satisfactory Tesco plc stakeholders are. To achieve this, ratio analysis was employed to analyse the companys last three years financial statements (2008, 2009, 2010) and this was compared with the rivals three results in order to obtain objectivity and fairness. There was also a consideration regarding the going concern status of the business as it is central to the companys long term survival. As a consequence, tools such as SWOT and 5 Forces analysis were considered to assess its non financial information in order to establish Tesco plcs current competitive position in the market, any strengths and weaknesses they have as well as opportunities and threats they are faced with. RESEARCH QUESTIONS As part of this project the following research question were generated in order to respond to them in the analysis: Has the shareholders investment managed properly? How well have Tesco plc shareholders are been rewarded for risks taken? Have stakeholders interest been kept satisfied? Is the companys current business strategy sustainable? What is the companys long term survival strategy? Will the company be able to continue to enjoy rapid increase and expansion? 2. INFORMATION GATHERING Sources and their reasons Tesco Plcs 2008, 2009, 2010 Annual reports These individual annual reports provided me with detailed and adequate information which I used for analysing the business and financial performance of the company. The annual reports were very useful in calculating and analysing since they were the most current results. J. Sainsburys Plc Annual Reports for 2008, 2009, 2010 Like the Tesco Plc annual reports, these ones from J. Sainsburys Plc also assisted me in analysing the business and financial performance of the company and again the most recent financial reports. The Chairmen and the Chief Executives statements from both companies These were useful in that they provided me with the companies operational highlights which helped my analysis to reflect those highlights Quarterly Reports on their trading activates There were vital information that I gathered from these quarterly reports as well, which aided my analysis. Unaudited interim company financial Reports Even though these reports were unaudited and may not provide much positive signs, however they supplied me with trends on these companies operations to establish its performance and also to see if there was the need for issuance of profit warning. News papers Information gathered from the news paper publications included experts opinions, comments and suggestions which could affect the share price of the company on the market. And as such was useful to the shareholders and potential shareholders. Expert Reports These were other independent expert views gathered apart from the news papers which throw much more lights on the future and potential prospects of the company by showing trends, projections, forecast, diagnosis, etc. Libraries Continuous visit to libraries such as the Woolwich library, British library, white chapel, etc. These libraries gave me the chance to have access to the data bases of all the listed companies information. Books and journals Most of the ACCA text books such as Paper F2, F7, P3, ACCA students magazines, Financial accounting books, etc were all useful in this exercise in getting a deeper understanding of the financial analysis. 2.2 Method used in information gathering The secondary data were gathered and used for the conduct of this report which was collected through the following means: Libraries Libraries attendance was used to collect data from sources such as articles, News papers, Textbooks, journals, magazines, CD ROM, etc. Search engines (Websites) Websites that were considered important were visited to collect data including that of Tesco Plc website, J. Sainsburys Plc and others. They are (www.tesco.com), (www.j-sainsbury.co.uk), http://www.emeraldinsight.com, http://www.ssrn.com, http://search.ebscohost.com, etc. Request Letter A formal written letter was sent to both the secretaries of Tesco Plc and J. Sainsburys Plc to request a copy of their 2008, 2009, 2010 annual reports which helped in the analysis. Marketlineinfo.com/ Datamonitor.com Specialised information were sort from these sources to help analyse the non- financial information such as SWOT AND 5 Forces analyses techniques. Financial Analysis Made Easy (FAME) This source gave me financial information including Tesco Plc and J. Sainsburys Plc and contained ratios analysis for companies. There was also non- financial information such as the employees numbers, structure of company ownership, issues relating to corporate governance. Accounting techniques used The under-listed techniques were used for the conduct of this research in order to arrive at a reasonable and an objective conclusions which helped to give recommendations Profitability ratios Liquidity ratios Efficiency and solvency Investor ratios/ Stock market ratios As part of the conduct of this research these financial ratios were computed in understanding of the company performance in answering the research questions mentioned in 1.5 above were. They included: Revenue Growth ratio: this showed the movement of growth in revenue for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 for both Tesco Plc and J. Sainsbury Plc. Profitability and returns ratios: These ratios indicated well Tesco Plc has superiority in terms of Profit generation for the three years as oppose to its rival J. Sainsbury Plc. Working capital ratios: these ratios are pointers of short-term financial standing of both companies. The idea was to establish these companies ability to remain in business by been able to finance its short term debts with short term sources of finance without having to result to the use of long term finance (fixed assets). Efficiency ratios like the profit per employee and turnover per employee were all considered. This was able to show how efficient Primark has been managed in relation to its workers. Investor ratios: the investor ratios measured how well have the shareholders been adequately rewarded for the risk taken. And also these ratios could assist potential shareholders to take any informed decision (s). 3. ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION 3.1 OVERVIEW OF TESCO PLC Tesco is one of the largest food retailers in the world, operating around 2,318 stores and employing over 326,000 people. As well as operating in the UK, it has stores in the rest of Europe and Asia. It also provides online services through its subsidiary, Tesco.com. The UK is the companys largest market operating under four banners: Extra, Superstore, Metro and Express. Tesco sells approximately 40,000 food products in its superstores, as well as clothing and other non-food lines. The companys own-label products are at three levels, value, normal and finest. Tesco Plc own brand accounts for approximately 50% of sales. As well as convenience produce, many stores have gas stations. The company has become one of Britains largest petrol independent retailers. Other retailing services offered in the UK include Tesco Personal Finance and Tesco.com. Tesco Personal Finance is a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland. It has over 3.4 million customers, and provides various financial p roducts and services. The company has operations in the rest of Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Tescos Republic of Ireland business operates in the region of 82 stores, and around 60 stores in the Hungarian market. Tescos Polish operations include former HIT operated stores. It operates around 66 hypermarkets and supermarkets in this country. In the Czech Republic and Slovakian markets, Tesco operates 22 and 23 hypermarkets respectively. Tesco also operates stores in Asia, including Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. The company operates 64 stores in Thailand and 28 stores in the South Korean Market, while in the Taiwanese and Malaysian markets it has three stores in each nation. www.datamonitor.com 3.2 OVERVIEW OF J. SAINSBURYS PLC J. Sainsbury plc operates a total of 890 stores comprising 547 supermarkets and 343 convenience stores. It jointly owns Sainsburys Bank with Lloyds Banking Group and has two property joint ventures with Land Securities Group PLC and The British Land Company PLC. The Group also holds 294 freehold and long leasehold stores. It employs approximately 150,000 staff. The companys stores offer a range of food, and complementary non-food products and services primarily under the Sainsburys brand. It also provides an Internet-based home delivery shopping service. In addition, it provides insurance, credit cards, savings products, and loans. The Sainsburys brand is built upon a heritage of providing customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. Quality and fair prices go hand-in-hand with a responsible approach to business. Sainsburys stores have a particular emphasis on fresh food and strive to innovate continuously and improve products in line with their customer needs (http://www.j-sa insbury.co.uk). Its businesses are organized into three operating segments: Retailing (Supermarkets and Convenience); Financial services (Sainsburys Bank joint venture), and Property investment (British Land joint venture and Land Securities joint venture) (http://uk.reuters.com). Companies Strategy 3.2.1 Tesco Plc business strategy Tesco Plc has a well-established and steady strategy for growth that has assisted in strengthening its core activities in the UK and its further expansion in to new markets (abroad). The basis for the strategy is to widen the scale of it operations to enable it deliver well-built sustainable long-term growth by way of pursuing the customer into large growing markets at home. By that it offers customers with products including financial services, telecoms and non-food and new markets abroad, originally in Central Europe and Asia, and  more lately  in the US. The companys 1997 diversification strategy lunched has successful become its foundation in recent times. The company has become market leader in most of the markets that saw the creation and development of their new businesses out the UK for the last twelve years since these businesses are highly competitive and profitable. Tesco plc strategy has shown a massive progress consistently. The strategy has five essential rudiments which reflect on the companys four conventional areas of concentration and the business long-term commitments regarding the society as well as the environment. The objectives of the Tesco Plc strategy focus on: To become a successful global retailer To develop its core business in the UK To become as strong in non-food as in food. To build up retailing services such as Tesco Personal Finance, Telecoms and Tesco.com To put the community at the heart of what it does (http://www.tescoplc.com) 3.2.2 J. Sainsburys Plc business strategy J. Sainsburys Plc strategy focuses on five main areas which are underpinned by the companys strong heritage and brand which consistently sets it apart from its main rivals. One of such strategies is great quality products at fair prices the company with its consistent innovation provides its customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food that are also sourced with integrity. With over 19 million customers been served every week and increase in market indicate how successful the strategy has been. The companys second strategy is on the acceleration of the growth of its complementary non-food and services through its philosophy of quality and value, and to offer a broader shopping experience for consumers. The company opened 51 convenient stores during 2009/10 as part of its strategy of reaching as many customers as possible with it brand. I also expanded its groceries online business to reach almost 90% households with non food products lunched in July 2009 making 8,000 products now available nationwide. J. Sainsbury Plc plan to open 75 to 100 more in convenient stores in 2010/11. Since operational flexibility can be improved by property/ assets ownership and even further exploitation of potential development opportunities, J. Sainsbury Plc increased the value of it freehold property portfolio to  £9.8 billion (http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk) In a highly competitive marketplace in which all UK retailers are fighting to sustain their sales against a slowdown in consumer spending, Primark is doing remarkably well. The UK high streets and malls are packed with no-frills fashion retailers. That means that Primark has plenty of competitors all aiming at the same type of customers. It is not easy to sell cheap fashion. Well-established rivals such as BHS and Matalan are struggling, while results at Primark are booming. The market segment targeted by Primark is the fashion conscious under-35s with the slogan Look good pay less. It offers fashionable clothes at very competitive prices (for example, jeans for  £4) and reasonable quality: in other words, a value for money strategy. In competitive strategy terms, Primark is a pursuing a classic focus cost leadership strategy. The American management professor Michael Porter of Harvard University developed a well-known approach to the competitive strategy of firms. He argued that companies could achieve a higher rate of profit (or at least potential profit) in one of two ways: they could either provide a product or service that is identical to that provided by rival companies, but at a lower cost than rival firms, or they could provide a product or service that is differentiated from that of rival firms such that customers would be prepared to pay more for their product than for a rival firms product. (R. M Grant (2005)). The first approach would mean that the firm has a  cost advantage over rival firms, allowing it to pursue a Cost Leadership strategy; the second approach would mean that they had a  differentiation  advantage, allowing it to pursue a Differentiation strategy. Firms selling a no-frills product are usually attempting a cost leadership strategy, such as Easyjet (UK) or SouthWest (USA) airlines. The focus part of Primarks strategy is the specific customer segment it focuses on i.e. that of the under-35s. It is not attempting to sell to everybody. It has selected a particular customer segment, just as the 18-30 holiday company has selected a clear market segment based on age group within the leisure industry. In the last three years Primark has got a lot of things right. Some of its strongest successful competitors are BHS, TK Maxx and George at ASDA. However, although all three are in the value segment and therefore have similar market positioning, the other three have different strategies to that of Primark. TK Maxx sells heavily-discounted prestige brands and George at Asda has created its own private-label brand mostly at out-of town stores. Primark is a high street retailer which has a family of brands and focuses much more on buying, logistics and supply chain management rather than branding. In its pursuit of ever-lower costs, teams of buyers in UK and Ireland travel internationally both to identify fashion trends and to seek out the most competitive suppliers. The company uses computerised customs clearance (speed to market) and dedicated warehousing and distribution facilities, such as the giant warehouse owned and run by the logistics company TNT but dedicated solely to Primark stock distribution. This one warehouse is centrally located for the whole UK market, near a junction of the M1 motorway and it houses 50% of Primarks UK stock, receiving 30 lorry loads each day. (This warehouse was destroyed by fire in November 2005). Computerised warehousing and distribution systems are linked to computerised daily sales and stock information (rapid restocking of fast-selling items) by size and colour for each item in every store to optimise turnover. (www.open2.net) THE PEST ANALYSIS James and Akharaserani (1988) indicated that external phenomena have impact on internal ones. By PEST, attention is paid to Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors which could influence positively or negatively on the growth or otherwise of the organisation. The discussion below throws more light on these external issues of the organisation. (P)olitical According to Lancaster et al (2002 p. 55) The political environment is the starting point from which many other macro-environment forces originate. Tesco operates in a variety of political environments; the head office being in the UK. The UK has a functional democracy with elections and multi-party political system. The USA has a similar democratic setup. The political factors in both countries are stable and promote the growth of private enterprise. Most of the European markets are situated in Eastern part and the markets are Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia and Turkey. The political factors here are not as stable as UK or USA. Asia is the largest market outside of the UK. It has presence in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, China, and Japan. Of these Japan is quite stable. The most political problems are from Thailand where there is opposition from local businesses and so Tesco faces the biggest problems here. (E)conomic The UK and the US are both rich countries even though faced with a recession at present. The East European markets are much poorer in comparison, but Lancaster et al (2002) indicate that there is a massive improvement in the economic environment of the Far East with the likes of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and China. To prevail in the economic condition of the Far East, Tesco has lowered its prices which are welcomed by the local population there. (S)ocial The social structure in USA and UK are quite akin where shopping in supermarkets has existed for a long time. But for the Asian countries, the concept is relatively new. Turkey and Malaysia are both Muslim countries; hence their religious laws have to be taken into consideration by Tesco. (T)echnological Assessing todays technology, Headrick (2009) says, it has brought the world to a stunning advancement. It is in the light of this that Lancaster et al (2002) establish that technology is a very important tool which has a huge impact on the marketing firm. By technology, Japan, US, UK and Malaysia have similar facilities. South Korea is also strong in this regard. Thailand might be the least technologically advanced of the markets. This is also the case with the East European markets. China has technical capability, but is mainly limited to its cities. But it can be said that the level of technology needed by Tesco in all these markets are available and hence not much obstacles in this area are anticipated. THE VALUE CHAIN The concept of value chain has been widely and intensively spoken about by astute authors. The concept was propounded by Michael Porter. Explaining the value chain concept, Porter (1985) describes it as, A general framework for thinking strategically about the activities involved in any business and assessing their relative cost and role in differentiation. Writing on the same concept, Longbottom (2006) intimated that information dissemination across the value chain has increasingly become indispensable to organisations which want to stay in competition. To support Longbottoms assertion, Dekker (2003) expressed that the importance of the value chain cannot be over-emphasised as it grants the organisation an opportunity to achieve the maximum. According to Porter (1985) the value chain has two major parts, namely; Primary and Support activities. He says the Primary activities are those directly linked with production. They are: Inbound logistics, Operations, Outbound logistics, Marketing and Sales and Service. The Support or the Secondary activities he identified as: Procurement, Human Resources Management, Technology Development and the Firms Infrastructure. Below is a demonstration of how Tesco applies the value chain in its activities. 4.1 Primary Activities: Inbound logistics Tesco gets its materials from the suppliers who are mostly the producers and stores them in its depot. Operations Those that need to be turned into finished products are processed as such Outbound logistics Tesco has trucks of different types which supply the various stores. Marketing and Sales Tesco has various means of marketing its products which include the application of the promotional mix producing to meet the needs of the customer Service Tesco has a track record of providing an outstanding service to customers, especially after sales. This is to find out the impression of the customer after the usage of the product. 4.2 Support Activities: Procurement Tesco has been getting in touch with its suppliers without middlemen, hence minimising procurement cost in its purchases. Human Resources Management Tesco employs people who have the expertise and the commitment to serve the company with all the loyalty. Mention could be made of Terry who committed his business acumen to Tesco for fourteen years as Chief Executive Officer. Technology Development This is an area Tesco cannot be beaten to it, as it has created a formidable e-commerce for its activities through Tesco.com The Firms Infrastructure In terms of infrastructure, Tesco has high class modern facilities for its stores and spacious parking places in most of its stores. INFORMATION SYSTEM/IT AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TOOL FOR TESCO Speaking on the advent of technology, Goessi (2008) expressed that Technology has taken the business environment by storm. Throwing more light on that, Headrick (2009) intimated that due to technology, there has been an excessive threat to the business environement. Gone are the days when every single activity that was done in organisations was manual. In recent years, automation has taken business to another level and those organisations wishing to stay and aspire ought to follow suit. The points discussed below would afford Tesco, the opportunity to gain competitive advantage. Strategic Differentiation According to Hitt et al (2009) a good IS would afford the organisation to strategically differentiate itself to be competitively ahead. In line with this, Tesco differentiates itself and gain competitive advantage by offering special services like club cards to the customer. Integration of Supply and Distribution Tesco could apply IS as a tool to assess and track inventory. By that the supply chain could be monitored with minor problems detected before they become major ones. Communication The Information System being practised in the organisation would determine how expeditious information would be disseminated. A communication system which is automated in nature would minimise cost and improve the image of Tesco as an organisation. Quick Decision Making Information System paves way for important information to be delivered at the right time. Any manager who wants to make a quick decision in the current business dispensation should find IS as an indispensable tool. This will provide the manager to do a quick assessment on a bordering issue and find a solution. CONCLUSION Tesco as an organisation has made a tremendous impact on the business landscape. Even though it had gone through rough times and still faces some competition which is inevitable in contemporary business circles, Tesco has become a household name. With its performance in both the local and the international scenes, couple with the vast technological incorporation, the sky could still be its limit as Goessi (2008) expressed, Many businesses today are still realizing the power their technology possesses, but once strategic knowledge is realised, the potential is endless.

Cross Cultural Negotiations :: essays research papers

Cross cultural negotiation is one of many specialized areas within the wider field of cross cultural communications. By taking cross cultural negotiation training, negotiators and sales personnel give themselves an advantage over competitors. There is an argument that proposes that culture is inconsequential to cross cultural negotiation. It maintains that as long as a proposal is financially attractive it will succeed. However, this is a naà ¯ve way of approaching international business. Let us look at a brief example of how cross cultural negotiation training can benefit the international business person: There are two negotiators dealing with the same potential client in the Middle East. Both have identical proposals and packages. One ignores the importance of cross cultural negotiation training believing the proposal will speak for itself. The other undertakes some cross cultural training. He/she learns about the culture, values, beliefs, etiquette and approaches to business, meetings and negotiations. Nine times out of ten the latter will succeed over the rival. This is because 1) it is likely they would have endeared themselves more to the host negotiation team and 2) they would be able to tailor their approach to the negotiations in a way that maximises the potential of a positive outcome. Cross cultural negotiations is about more than just how foreigners close deals. It involves looking at all factors that can influence the proceedings. By way of highlighting this, a few brief examples of topics covered in cross cultural negotiation training shall be offered. Eye Contact : In the US, UK and much of northern Europe, strong, direct eye contact conveys confidence and sincerity. In South America it is a sign of trustworthiness. However, in some cultures such as the Japanese, prolonged eye contact is considered rude and is generally avoided. Personal Space & Touch: In Europe and North America, business people will usually leave a certain amount of distance between themselves when interacting. Touching only takes place between friends. In South America or the Middle East, business people are tactile and like to get up close. In Japan or China, it is not uncommon for people to leave a gap of four feet when conversing. Touching only takes place between close friends and family members. Time: Western societies are very ‘clock conscious? Time is money and punctuality is crucial. This is also the case in countries such as Japan or China where being late would be taken as an insult. However, in South America, southern Europe and the Middle East, being on time for a meeting does not carry the same sense of urgency.

Changes, Changes and More Changes!

Changes, Changes, and More Changes Hudson County Community College isn't a perfect school, but there are a lot of things that they have room to improve on. I honestly don't have many complaints about this school, I feel alright about it, I am not impressed but I am also not outraged by anything. Even though I don't have many complaints about this school it doesn't mean that I don't feel that they have things that they should improve on.The biggest problem I have with this school is the service at the main desk, then it would be the student lounge area, and last but not least the parking situation. These are all very important things to me, and these are things they should really fix. To begin, the issue of parking isn't a big deal to me personally, but I've heard so many students and professors speak and complain about it that I think it's high time something was done to fix the problem.For example, this is a college, which means that students ranging from seventeen years of age and higher, come to this school seeking a higher education. Most of these students have cars, but, this school doesn't provide any parking for these students. So that means, that they must circle around the block about three times on a good day and about ten times on a bad day, until they find parking. Do you believe that's fair? This causes students to be late for class and to miss important parts of the lecture.Now, on the other hand, teachers do have a parking area, but the parking is about ten blocks away, this of course isn't a problem if it's seventy to eighty degrees outside, but when the weather is cold, do you really think that people want to get out of their warm cars just to go out into the blistering cold, or when it's 100 plus degrees outside, do you think people want to come out of their comfortably cool cars, and sweat in the New Jersey summer heat? Secondly, the lounge are.It literally is just a lounge area, with some vending machines thrown in. Imagine yourself a studen t who has been in class since, let's say ten in the morning, and you haven't had a good 45 minute break in hours, and you're starving, so you walk down to the trusty student lounge and what do you find? You find a room with some chairs and a couple of vending machines, and not the cool kind of vending machines, that serve sandwiches or soups, but the kind that serve junk food. What would be your reaction to this? How would you feel in that instant?Of course, now you don't have time to run down to the deli and buy yourself some lunch, because everything is so far away and you just wasted a good ten minutes coming down to the student lounge and staring at the vending machines in outrage. So what are you going to do? You are either not going to buy anything, or you're going to settle for some chips and a sugar filled soda, a snack that is sure to make you crash in about twenty minutes. I honestly don't see how this is fair, if you want student's to do well in school, then you have to p rovide them with an environment where they can achieve success.Having to work through hunger and fatigue isn't going to help them succeed. This school really needs a cafeteria, where students can go and eat something healthy and filling, not just a place where they can go and eat some sugar and sit for a couple of minutes. Lastly, the issue with the main desk. I'm not sure if those ladies know what their exact job is, but I'm sure that it's not talking non-stop. I'm not saying anything bad about them, because they are extremely nice and friendly, but if they could be nice and friendly and do their job, now that would be super.I remember how my friend's cousin, was having the biggest problem with finishing his financial aid paper work last year, it literally took him a year to finish fixing them, his little brother who was a year behind him in school, finished High School and started College before he did. That's embarrassing. The fact that it took so long, the fact that he had to co ntinue coming in to bring the same papers in almost every week, and the fact that he would get attitude and poor service every time, speaks lowly about the people working in those desks.I also had a problem like this, it didn't take a whole year for me to fix my issues, but I did have to come in a bunch of times for the same problem, and to hand in papers that were later on not going to be useful in anyway. To the students of this college it is important that those women and men do their jobs, we need them, they fill up our papers, they send them to where they need to be sent, and they are supposed to make things easier for us, not the opposite, so to see that those people cause so much trouble for the students makes me think that this school has one major flaw, and this flaw can be easily dealt with.All they need to do is fire them and hire people who are more competent†¦ or if that's too extreme give them a class where they learn exactly what their job description is, since i t seems that they have forgotten it, or maybe never learned what it was. Changing some of this school biggest problems is sure to make this school become a place where other people would want to come and experience it, nobody wants to have a hard time at the main desk, or starve to death, or be late to class while looking for parking.The faster we solve these issue the faster we can start calling this establishment great, because as of now this is just a place where people come to pass the time and to get a taste of what college is like. This school isn't perfect, but it's imperfections really make people take a second thought to coming here, so the quicker we fix these problems, the quicker we can fill up the school with a lot of happy students and professors.

“Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce and Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” Essay

Many authors use irony to impact the story in different ways. Sometimes the author makes the tone very pleasant and dreamy, like every thing is good and ok, when all of the sudden the story is flipped completely, changing the whole outcome of the story. Irony can also be used in a much more subtle way, for example it doesn’t change the entire story, it just makes the reader think about what just happened a second time. For example, Ambrose Bierce’s short story, â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† has very ironic elements to it. Just about the whole story itself is quite ironic. Peyton Farquhar, the main charter, is being hung. In the seconds of dying, he stretches the couple of seconds out into a long-lasting dream. He imagines himself swimming away while dodging bullets, and then he gets into the forest where he must make a long and miserable trip back to his house. Just as he is about to reach his wife’s arms his neck breaks and he dies, but he didn’t die there, he died long ago at the bridge. Bierce makes you truly think that Farquhar has escaped from death, but just as you think you are going to witness a happy ending, you figure out Peyton Farquhar has died at Owl Creek Bridge. Another example of irony in the short story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† was when the Union solider dressed as a Confederate soldier so easily convinced Farquhar to attempt to burn down the Owl Creek Bridge. All he had to do was mention that the bridge could easily be burnt down from one side. He was really a Union soldier trying to, in a way, trick Farquhar into giving up his life, and it worked fairly easily. Another short story that has some very ironic parts to it is Stephen Crane’s â€Å"The Blue Hotel†. One of its ironic points is when the Swede is in the pub. He is starting to get drunk and asks a small group of men in the pub to come have a drink with him. They say no and eventually the drunken Swede goes over and puts his hand on one of the men’s shoulder and ends up strangling him. This forces the man to pull out a knife and stab the Swede, which ends up killing him. All the Swede wanted was someone to drink and have a good time with, but oddly enough, this ends up costing him his life. Another very ironic point to â€Å"The Blue Hotel† was what all the Swede went through when he accused Johnnie of cheating in a game of cards. He got into a fight with Johnnie and then left the hotel from which he got stabbed and killed. The Swede lost his life over a little accusation of cheating. Later on in the story we learn that his acquisition turned out to be true; Johnnie actually did cheat at the card game, just nobody believed him over Johnnie because everyone has known him for a long time, but the Swede was just some random guy that thought everyone was out to get him. Irony can be used in different ways, some very dramatic, and some just to add a little kick to the story. Bierce used irony in a very direct and in a way that it completely changed the plot. He used it so that an almost seemingly happy ending turned into a very sad ending in the blink of an eye. Crane’s use of irony sort of adds to the story without completely changing it. It makes the reader feel sort of bad for the character, making them feel if just this little change would have occurred, everything would have turned out happy. Irony is a very strong tool that can be used is to enhance the story and even to fool the reader sometimes.