Beethoven Essays (1853 words) - , Term Papers

Beethoven The Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement in the United States was a political, legal, and social struggle by black Americans to gain full citizenship rights and to achieve racial equality. The Civil Rights movement was first and foremost a challenge to segregation. During the Civil Rights Movement, individuals and organizations challenged segregation and discrimination with a variety of activities, including protest marches, boycotts, and refusal to abide by segregation laws. Many believed that the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended with the Voting Rights act of 1965. However, there has been debate about when it began and whether it has ended yet. The Civil Rights Movement has also been called the Black Freedom Movement, the Negro Revolution, and the Second Reconstruction. There were three main tenets to the Civil Rights Movement, the Post Civil War Period, the Educational Period, and the Social Movement. Following the Civil War, the 13th 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution were passed. The 13th amendment made all blacks citizens of the United States. The 14th amendment granted them equal protection under the law. The 15th amendment gave black citizens the right to vote. After the outlawing of slavery, a new form of slavery developed in the South called sharecropping. This Debt Peonage tied the sharecropper to the land. By this system a black family farmed the land owned by whites. The blacks were allowed to keep about 10-15% of the profit and the rest went to the landowner. The blacks were kept in debt through their purchases at a General Store owned by the landowner. The blacks purchased things on credit, which kept them in debt. The story To Praise Our Bridges, by Fanny Lou Hamer, depicts the life of sharecroppers. It explains how the sharecroppers were kept in debt, and how they were sabotaged if they started to come out of debt. Black Codes or Jim Crow laws, were put in place to limit the movement of b lacks' rights and to enforce segregation. Many of these laws were put in place specifically to hinder black voting. This was done because the blacks outnumbered whites in the South and they feared that given the chance, the blacks would attempt to take control. These laws included such things as the Grandfather Clause. This stated that if your grandfather was able to vote in 1864 than you could vote. This was very effective because at that time no blacks would have been allowed to vote. Also Poll taxes were passed. These were taxes for the right to vote and had to be paid in the February prior to voting. The rationale was that the people would either not be able to afford the tax or they would lose their proof of payment by November. Also literacy tests were required in many areas before one could vote. This was effective because prior to 1864 it was illegal to teach black slaves to read and write. To Praise Our Bridges reveals how effective the White Power Structure of the South wa s at keeping blacks from voting. It was not until 1962 that the author even learned that she could vote. Most of these practices came to an end with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1896 came the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson. The Supreme Court, in this case, upheld the legality of racial segregation. At the time of the ruling, segregation between blacks and whites already existed in most schools, restaurants, and other public facilities in the American South. In the Plessy decision, the Supreme Court ruled that such segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. This coined the phrase Separate but equal and set the way of life for almost the next sixty years. The second phase of Civil Rights Reform came about through the educational system. The public schools were funded by property taxes. Since few blacks actually owned property, and that which was owned by blacks was of little value, the schools in black neighborhood s were always of lower quality than those in white neighborhoods. The banking industry hindered advancement. The industry engaged in what

Concept Of Therapeutic Relationships In Mental Health Social Work Essay Example

Concept Of Therapeutic Relationships In Mental Health Social Work Essay Example Concept Of Therapeutic Relationships In Mental Health Social Work Essay Concept Of Therapeutic Relationships In Mental Health Social Work Essay The remit of this essay is to research and discourse the construct of curative relationships in mental wellness and what is involved in constructing these relationships. The inquiry is in two parts, so in the first portion of the essay, the writer wishes to research the significance of a curative relationship and discourse what is needed from the nurse and service user to keep this. In the 2nd portion, the writer will take two cardinal elements that contribute to a curative relationship in mental wellness nursing and discourse the importance they have. The two cardinal elements that have been chosen is communicating, both verbal and non verbal, and the importance of these elements in a relationship between a nurse and a service user. To accomplish this end the writer will utilize assorted resources available, for illustration the cyberspace, literature from category and appropriate reading stuffs. Main Body Building relationships is cardinal to nursing work , ( Nursing Times ) and highly of import in mental wellness nursing. A curative relationship involves regard, empathy and genuineness ( Callaghan and Waldock 2006 ) . Both the nurse and service user should demo regard for each other and the nurse should esteem the beliefs of the service user, even if they do non hold with these. The relationship should be individual centred, leting the service user to be at the nucleus of their attention programs etc, their beliefs and wants must be respected at all times. Service users must be at the Centre of their attention and recovery. Choices and determinations should be made by them. If there are any alterations to be made to a attention bundle, the service user must be informed and have their say. In a curative relationship the nurse will back up the service user in all facets of their attention and recovery. With mention to the quotation mark in inquiry, did it at my degree and gait all the clip , ( Brown and Kandirkirira 2007 ) this is critical in recovery and for a curative relationship. The nurse must work aboard the service user and back up them in taking for the ends that the service user has made and non what the nurse expects them to be able to make. The service user should ever stay at the Centre of their recovery and to develop such a relationship, the nurse should portion their cognition of the unwellness, which gives the service user an apprehension of what they are sing and some control on the state of affairs and both will be able to take an active function in the direction of the unwellness, ( Owen 2004 ) .The nurse should be able to demo empathy, being able to set themselves in the service users place and conceive of how they would experience and how they would wish to be treated, accurate empathy is ever authorising, since it represents an apprehension and credence of the talker s feelings ( Millenson 1995 ) . This accomplishment shows the ser vice user that the nurse has taken on board what has been said and that they can set themselves in the persons state of affairs. Those involved in the curative relationship should ever demo genuineness and keep non judgmental attitudes towards each other. Genuineness is based on the ability of the practician to be unfastened with his patient It will assist to confirm the patient as the Centre of the intervention and advance the patients trust in the practician and his interventions, ( Owen 2004 ) . The nurse should desire to work aboard the service user and offer support when needed to accomplish and keep this relationship. The people have the right and the responsibility to take part separately and jointly in the planning and execution of their wellness attention, ( World Health Organisation 1978 ) . A curative relationship does non happen overnight, it takes clip and a great trade of trust is indispensable between the nurse and the service user. Trust is really of import for the relationship to develop and if this is achieved the service user will accept the nurses support and advice on interventions available and besides work aboard each other alternatively of the nurse proposing that they know best as they are the professional. patients themselves value curative relationships which offer regard, trust and attention and it seems that such relationships may in themselves prove to be mending in the broadest sense. ( Mitchell and Cormack 1998 ) . If trust is maintained throughout the development of the relationship the service user will get down to gain that the nurse does in fact attention about their state of affairs and does wish to back up them on their route to recovery offering support and advice when necessary. The trust gained from both people should assist each other t o get down experience at ease the more they meet with each other and the service user may easy get down to open up to the nurse and enable them to speak about how they are truly feeling, what may frighten them and accept their advice and support. It will besides demo the service user that they are at the Centre of their attention and that they will work at their ain gait and when they are ready to take that one measure further down their way to recovery, they will. A cardinal component that contributes to a curative relationship in mental wellness nursing is the usage of verbal communicating. One really of import facet of this is inquiring unfastened inquiries, which the service user is unable to answer with a simple yes or no reply. This will let the nurse to derive a deeper apprehension of how the service user truly feels ( Burnard 1992 ) . This besides shows the service user is at the Centre of their attention and possibly they will get down to speak openly and freely about their true feelings as this type of inquiries show the nurse does care for them and wants to back up them in the best possible manner, it allows the nurse to sympathize, if they can acquire a true history of the feelings the service user has. The empathy shown may promote the service user to speak openly more frequently as they know that they will non be judged for holding some of these feelings and ideas. Another of import facet of verbal communicating is reflecting and clear uping what has been said by the service user. Reflection requires the nurse to state back to the service user what they have said to guarantee they understand to the full. Clarifying is required by both the nurse and service user. The nurse may inquire a closed inquiry, which allows the service user to reply merely yes or no, or a individual reply to be definite, to guarantee they acquire the true significance of what the service user is stating and in bend the nurse can explicate their apprehension of the unwellness or state of affairs that the single finds themselves in and what support and services are available and how they can travel about puting these up, together, enabling the service user to do determinations after being given the pick to make so. When the nurse gives their positions to the service user, any specialist linguistic communication, for illustration slang, should be avoided as this may move as a barrier within the curative relationship as the nurse is non taking into history if the service user understands what is being said to them. This binds in with the nucleus elements of a curative relationship as the nurse will demo empathy, genuineness and trust will increase working at the degree and gait of the service user. The nurse must be cognizant of their tone of voice, ( Stickley and Freshwater 2006 ) when talking to the service user, to do certain they do nt come across as patronising or uncaring. This may make a challenge in keeping the relationship as the service user may experience belittled by the nurse and in bend may shut up and non talk about how they are genuinely experiencing therefore the relationship will non develop and there wo nt be any trust. Another component of verbal communicating is the nurse should non be speedy to job solve, ( Stickley and Freshwater 2006 ) . Leting the service user to believe of attacks of get the better ofing the jobs that may happen during their recovery procedure high spots that they are at the Centre of their attention and shows that they have the concluding determination in their attention and or intervention. If the nurse moves in rapidly to seek and assist the service user, it may come across as patronising and that they are seeking to take contro l of the state of affairs as they have non took the clip to inquire what the service user wants and may do a barrier between the nurse and the service user. The 2nd cardinal component that contributes to curative relationships in mental wellness is the usage of non verbal communicating. This component is highly of import in keeping a curative relationship and being cognizant of the accomplishment involved is critical. The most of import accomplishment is sitting in a mirrored place, non sitting face on in forepart of the patient but to the side and tilting somewhat in demoing they are ready and willing to listen ( Stickley and Freshwater 2006 ) , sitting behind a desk can move as a barrier and come across as authoritative ( Burnard 1992 ) and may do the service user to experience uneasy, discouraging them from opening up and experiencing unable to swear the nurse. The nurse should be sitting comfortably and in a manner that does non do the service user feel uncomfortable in any manner. The usage of oculus contact is paramount in keeping a curative relationship but cognizing when and how to utilize the accomplishment is the key. Too much oculus contact may do the state of affairs to escalate and both the nurse and service user may experience uncomfortable. Not plenty oculus contact may convey a deficiency of involvement in what the service user is seeking to state them and may do the curative relationship to come to an terminal and the service user may non demo what they are genuinely experiencing or believing at this clip. Another of import facet of non verbal communicating is listening, The function of the hearer therefore is a privileged one and one that can advance healing, ( Stickley and Freshwater 2006 ) . Listening is likely one of the greatest accomplishments a nurse can accomplish. Listening is, the nurse hearing what the service user is stating and understanding what is being said, non what the nurse thinks they are stating. effectivity mostly depends on the nurses ability to listen and observe cues for curative question, ( Stickley and Freshwater 2006 ) . Therefore once more shows the nurse has picked up on the item of the statement from the service user and can reflect back to the service user what has been said to clear up their apprehension and to reassure the service user that they are being listened to. This will assist the service user to construct trust in the nurse as they will hold a feeling of credence and that person is listening to them. Decision It can now be seen that there are many cardinal elements that contribute to a curative relationship and the list is eternal. A curative relationship requires a batch of clip and trust on both parts and the nucleus accomplishments required from a nurse is empathy, trust and genuineness. As the writer stated she was merely looking at two cardinal elements that contribute to this relationship and feels farther probe may be required into other elements to to the full understand the importance and why such accomplishments are acquired to construct a relationship with a service user and the troubles they may come across in keeping a curative relationship. One thing the writer has achieved is the importance of individual centred attention and how indispensable it is to affect and listen to the service user in all facets of their attention.

International accounting and finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International accounting and finance - Essay Example International companies play a huge role in the global company and can have a powerful influence on the prospects and performance of several economies, especially those that are directly influenced by its business operations and decisions (Ray Whittington, 2007). Irrespective of their nature of operation, both domestic as well as international companies rely on the efficient management of their financial resources, wherein the financial management of the company can be defined as the management of the financial resources of a business organization so as to guide it towards the achievement of its financial objectives (Arthur Andersen, 1977). In this aspect, there are a few aspects, which are entirely applicable irrespective of the area or extent of operation of the company. With a view to improving the prospects of commercial business as the basis of the structure for the organization, the key objectives of managing the finances of the firm are to primarily generate revenue and profits for the business apart from ensuring the liquidity levels within the business. In addition, it is also necessary for financial management to provide the required strategies to help generate a healthy return on investment by assisting in identifying and mitigati ng all the risks involved in conducting the business by putting in a certain set of resources. In this respect, financial management is achieved for any firm through three main sections. Planning: in order to fund business operations, the management needs to be sure of the amount of funding available and the sums required to aid the needs of the business. Funding is required to invest in the company, its infrastructure, human resources as well as assist in the sales made over the credit (Barry Epstein, 2001). For longer terms, funding is also required to enhance the levels of productivity

In what ways are an organisations employment relations influenced by Essay

In what ways are an organisations employment relations influenced by external factors Use a PESTLE analysis supported by illustrative examples to substantiate your answer - Essay Example These components can combine together that they can substantially create strong influence on the existing employment relations in the corporate world. In order to understand further this issue, there is a need to cover important information about employment relationship management and other related aspects. It is by understanding this that the basic factors influencing employment relationships can be substantiated. Blyton and Turnbull (2004) argued that employee relations, personnel management and human resource management are different areas of studies as far as collective aspects of employment relationship is concerned. Under employee relations, personnel and human resource management, the focus is highly emphasised on individual and employment relationship (Blyton and Turnbull, 2004). However, if this has to be closely observed, the details about employee relations, personnel management and human resource management require basic understanding about individuals. Since this concern about individuals and the organisation, the existence of relationship between these two essential components of the business is a central focus as far as understanding employment relations is concerned. There are different attachments that characterise employment relationship such as employee commitment to organisation’s values and acknowledgement of both instrumental and calculative motives (Leat, 2007). The close tie that exists between the employer and employees is at some point can be attributed to given commitment by the two parties. It is important to understand in detail how this commitment comes into maturity in the business world. According to Daniels (2006), organisation and its employees should together have one common understanding of their corporate goals and such can be enhanced further by employees’ success or failures and their existing relationship. In

Edward Said article-- States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Edward Said article-- States - Essay Example It is very difficult to ascertain one’s identity and most people attach it to their ancestors and their homeland. Said on the other hand, left Palestine as a young child without having developed a rational sense of thinking and scientific temper and thus finds it tough to form a connection with Palestine in the present day – something that has been consistently talked about in his article. An identity crisis takes place when an individual becomes unsure of the role that he has to play in his life; many a time this may be attributed to travelling during one’s fledgling years and or not knowing the family to which one may be affiliated to. Erik Erikson, the theorist that coined the very term, has linked this crisis to the childhood of an individual. In the present case, the same can be understood by reading about Said’s departure from Palestine when he was a young boy. (Cherry, K) He studied abroad and developed American ideals as he grew older. The images and impressions that he has of Arabs and Muslims residing in Palestine are very different from the reality situation and this puts him in a tough spot when he begins to talk about his childhood. He has no memories of the country to reminisce and he feels inadequate in this regard. He has tried very excellently to explain the mechanism of Arabs and Muslims in the current scenario however finds that he can only do so with the help of Western ideals and imagery. He feels betrayed by his own ideas of a melting pot. (Visual Memoir: Edward Saids "States") Another issue that has been touched upon greatly is the idea of race and ethnicity. America today contains a hybrid mixture of people belonging to various cultures and ethnic groups as opposed to places like Palestine where it is difficult for even a single group of people to survive. One’s race and ethnicity also

Organizational Profile And Tesco Market Strategy

Organizational Profile And Tesco Market Strategy Tesco plc is a British international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding  £3 billion, and the third largest global retailer based on revenue, after Wal-Mart and Carrefour and second largest in profit behind Wal-Mart. In this assessment I would be trying to analyze Tesco business strategies in accordance to their market entry, PESTEL analysis, value chain, financial analysis and benchmark Tesco with their competitors Wal-Mart and Carrefour. Tesco PLC is a British international merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer in global sales and domestic market share. Their profits exceeded  £3 billion in 2009 and employ around 440,000 employees. It is the third largest global retailer based on revenue and second largest in profit Tesco operates 923 in national and international circuit, it gives them access to a population over 260 million across nine markets in different continents. Over the past five years, Tesco have expanded from a traditional UK supermarket into providing a variety products and services, including food, non-food business, personal finance and internet shopping. The increasing scale and globalization of their operations has provided significantly contributed to their efficiency and profitability. Even though it has been a very for consumer the companys confidence has fallen as people worry about unemployment and are struggling to manage their household budgets. At Tesco there has been a shift in priorities of the customers Tesco constantly monitored their prices on their food items and changed their value chain strategy to cut cost , cater to the needs of the customers and eventually to make profits. TESCO MARKET ENTRY STRATEGY The plank of Tescos entry strategy has been the use of their own-brand product. These are divided into three categories PRODUCT RANGE Finest: High quality food with highest price rages Mid-range Tesco brand : Medium quality and average price range Low-price Value brand: Low quality products with lower price value These product ranges of items are available to the consumer market in their retail format stores Tesco Extra: These are significantly large out of town hypermarkets which stock all of Tescos product ranges; the minimum shop floor is of 119,000 sq feet.[ Tesco Superstores: They are standard supermarkets stocking primarily groceries and other smaller non food goods. Tesco Metro: They are stores which functions between superstores and express stores, they are mainly located in city centers and high-street, they cater ready to eat food, refrigerated food and deli food to working class consumers. Tesco Express: Tesco Express stores are neighborhood convenience shops, they stocking mainly food with particularly on higher-margin products. Tesco Direct: Tesco Direct is an online store, where consumers can purchase items online and can collect it from a store or choose to deliver at home. OBJECTIVES OF MARKET ENTRY STRATEGY To cater to variety of food products at different price level satisfying different income levels To operate at an economy of scale there by able to have a control over the price To be accessible in all levels of the geography To gain significant market share To be able to compete in the highly significant technological and infrastructural environment. BARRIERS OF ENTRY Market Structure The market in which Tesco operates are in daily grocery market. Although, this is a highly competitive segment Tesco holds a huge proportion of market share, This type of market structure is highly volatile, continuous development and innovation is required by Tesco to keep the market share. Threats of substitutes The fear of substitutes in the food retail industry is minimal, but with higher number of super markets and convenient stores people have variable option to choose their product from. Buyer power The buyer power is high in the industry because the consumer can easily choose between ASDA, Tesco Sainsbury etc. The importance is often which retailer is closest to the consumer. Since the buyer power is high the cost of switching is very low. Supplier power Supplier power is relatively weak because there are a large number of supermarkets and a small numbers of dominant buyers. But we must have in mind that large suppliers such as Proctor and Gamble or Unilever have countervailing power. Rivalry The rivalry is high in the industry because of a very competitive market industry. As seen in table, Tesco is the market leader in UK; however, the five largest players have a market share of 65.6 % which indicate that it is an oligopolistic market. It is a high capital industry and a new market challenger must have financial resources on a very high level. Because the food retail market in UK is a mature market, growth is achieved by taking market share from competitors. RETAILER MARCH 2008 MARCH 2009 Tesco 30.6% 31.2% Sainsbury 16% 16.4% Asda 16.3% 16.9% Morrisons 11.3% 11.1% Somerfield 4,0% 3.7% Waitrose 3.7% 2.9% Iceland 1.6% 1.6% Grocery market shares, 2008-2009 www.nfuonline.com ANALYSIS The strategy used by Tesco in UK and Europe has been largely successful because of home territory advantage and supply chain control, the organization can control price of variable and change the price of food accordingly and this gives them a successful edge of other competitors like Asda and Sainsburry. With the plan of expansion significantly towards the east, Tesco has been struggling to gain momentum in these markets. The following are the recommendations for Tesco entering foreign markets Identify the market opportunities: Tesco has to understand the retail structure of the country and understand other elements such as suppliers, transport, home grown facilities. Market to enter: Which region to focus their market depending on their variables such as, competitors, standard of living Nature of food product: The variety of food product available within the company and international food supply. Understanding buying behavior: Understanding buying behavior is an psychological task, behavior has to be monitored and market research has to be setup to provide products that are best suited to consumer of that country. PESTEL ANALYSIS The analysis provides a framework for macro-environmental factors that used in the environmental scanning. It is a part for monitoring macro variable factors while understanding a strategic analysis. It is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. PESTEL analysis for TESCO Political (www.food.gov.uk) UK has a variety of important legislation and food laws. The FSA (The Food Safety Act) provides support for all food legislation in Great Britain. Some of these acts are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Falsely describing or presenting food à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rendering food injurious to health à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Selling food to a purchaser which is not of the substance or quality as demanded à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Unsafe unfit for human consumption The companies within the food industry must operate under the governments regulations, such as, the employment laws. Tescos Impact Tesco employs over 250.000 people in UK which can be difficult to control. Also environmental regulations and trade restrictions and tariffs are something to be aware of. Political changes may affect the food industry if curtain restrictions appear in the future, for that reason companies need to be flexible and ready to change quickly. Tesco certainly is a company which has the power and knowledge to change when difficulties occur. Economical Even though inflation rose to a high level at 3 % and interest rates rising to 5.75 %, the UK economy is rising the fallen (www.bankofengland.co.uk, 2008) The economic growth is currently at 3,8 % (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2009), unemployment has been falling and the UK housing market continues to be buoyant with rising house prices being a strong factor in maintaining consumer spending and confidence but retail companies in the UK are making record negligible profitability. It is important to have in mind that, with the American economy entering a harder economical phase because of housing bubble and large loans UK economy is feeling is feeling the heat too. Companies in the food retail industry are suffering the consequences. Therefore, profit are increasing because consumers are tending to be thrifty. Tescos Impact Even though with the financial turmoil Tescos has been able to hold an upper hand, the company uses its value product more efficiently to cater to their customers need and budgeting procurements. Higher interest rates and rising labor costs have adversely impact Tescos margins negatively Socio-cultural factors The annual income in UK has been increased since 2001 and is expected to increase even more in the future (www.euromonitor.com, 2007) which is connected with an healthier economy predicted in UK. Another important factor is lifestyle changes, it has big impact on consumer habits and expenditure, some of these factors are weight loss and dieting, which increases focus on health products in the food retail industry. It is not so much a question of developing new products but increasing dietary information and educating consumers on a healthy lifestyle in a way that is more actionable for them The early adopters of this approach include British retailers like Sainsbury and Tesco, both of which have diet ranges that do not include this word on packaging. Instead their ranges are branded as healthy, often emphasizing heart health, a major issue associated with obesity. (www.nutraingredients.com) Also consumerism is central, it is linked to consumer expenditure, as you see below the forecast is showing increasing spending in the UK from 2006-2013, which is essential to the food retail industry Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Million Pounds 68954,57 69207,54 69697,93 69518,95 69252,81 70118,77 CONSUMNER EXPENDITURE TREND FOR FOOD WWW.EUROMONITOR.COM Tescos Impact Tesco has been analyzing variety of consumers through their market research campaign; the stores have catered not only to consumers income levels but their diversities. Tescos has special aisles dedicated to Chinese and Indian consumers. Technological UK government spent approximately 22bn on technology in 2005 (www.zdnet.co.uk) which is double as much as ex. Germany. It indicates that UK is willing to spend a large amount on the future within the technology area. The speed of the technology transfer in the UK rises while internet users increase every year, see forecast below Tescos Impact The technological development in Tesco and other retail industry is emerging. New technologies such as self-service technology are becoming popular. The dependence on human services in Tesco retail is fast reduced by machines, this help the company reduce the prices of goods and cut operational cost. The technology gives the consumer the possibility to check-out by them self and it gives the retailers cost advantage because of less till employees it is a win-win situation. Environmental The green issue is becoming more and more relevant in society. Especially businesses needs to take part in the future of recycling and waste programs set up by the government. The framework of this is: (www.defra.gov.uk, 2007) Tescos Impact à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Phase out the use of free disposable bags in store and bag free delivery from the online shop. (www.tescocoporate.com) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduce food packaging use in-store devices to deliver product information instead. (Retail Week, 2007) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste program -Tesco advises and help other businesses on how to reduce and recycle their waste, with  £4 saved by business for each  £1 of government money. Legal Retail companies like Tesco needs to be aware of commercial and consumer laws like Sale of Goods Act 1979 which regulates contracts in which goods are sold and bought , food safety laws mentioned before and consumer protection laws, which protect the consumer against unfair and deceptive practices. Also fair trading which makes markets work well for consumers ex. The Office of Fair Trading (www.oft.gov.uk). These laws and acts can have a negative effect if not researched or taken into consideration. Tescos Impact Over the years Tesco has aided legal laws regarding consumer behavior including government legislations the company follows their own set of standard rules and regulations which enhance customer satisfaction. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS AT TESCO (using Potters principals) Inbound Logistics The inbound logistics is of critical importance in the Tesco value chain, because of the strong bond between Tesco and its suppliers. Tesco needs to make sure that the stores get the right products at the right price, the right quality, the right quantity and of course at the right time. Balance between these elements is central, so at the end, the consumers get what they want. The inbound logistics is one of Tescos competitive advantages and deals with reception of products, staff scheduling, facilities planning, stock control and storing. Operations The operation within the Tesco organization is in fact all the different products arriving to the store and placed in-store. Tesco buy large amounts of groceries, clothes, electronics etc. so they get the advantage of economies of scale, then they increase the price and sell it direct to the consumer with a positive margin. That is very simplified how Tescos operation works, of course there are things to be done before they sell it, like packaging, machining, testing of products, assembling, till operations and store operations. Outbound Logistics The outbound logistics is a smaller area in the organisation because Tesco do not have to send things out of their stores; customers come into the store and pick up their groceries, pay at the till and go out again. However, queuing management is important, so the customer gets a quick and efficient check-out. The location of the store and the car park outside the store is also central and linked closely to the consumer when they leave the store. Customer management is essential for the reason that Tesco is customer driving and the company needs all the information they can get about their customers to develop customer relations. Marketing and Sales Because of Tescos size, the company uses many marketing tools like Public Relations, advertising, promotion and in-store layout which hit the consumer on all senses when they shop. Tesco also have many in-store sales techniques, from different price schemes like expensive, less expensive and cheap areas in the store, in addition to price comparison with ASDA and J. Sainsbury etc. They do everything there is to capture the customer while they shop at Tescos and try their best to make sure people will come back. Another marketing scheme is their vouchers, you can actually use an ASDA voucher in the Tesco store and that is a perfect example of the sales techniques and Tescos willingness to capture customers. Service Tesco has many employees working all around the store, if you cannot find a special article at the store and asks an employee, they will either show you where it is or find somebody who knows about the article. Another service is when people check out and pay the employee at the till always asks the costumer if they need any help with packaging. Service outside the store is provided by the effective www.tesco.com where people can buy groceries, clothes and electronics online. Furthermore Tesco has a service and repair group who concentrates on everything that evolves service and repairs of product. Support activities Firm Infrastructure When a company grows as big as Tesco, the management structure will be divided into several areas as they do not only operate in their domestic market but are a global company. That is why Tesco now has a manager in all the major areas. The organizational structure is centralized at Tesco because it gives greater control, better goal congruence and greater expertise. In addition, Tesco has a multidivisional organization structure which is clear because they have so many different directors working in different divisions around the organization. Tesco also has a large legal department where they focus on the treatment of new suppliers. Human Resource management Tesco employs over 250.000 in the UK only, so dealing with recruiting the right people and developing the right teams in the stores has a huge impact on the firm. Tesco educate the employees by sending them to employment-training programs and some of the managers to management and leadership courses, to prepare them for the problems that often occur in the company and in the stores. Technology Development Tesco make use of many technological tools like information systems and use IT for stock control. They have IT systems about customer satisfaction and databases with information about the club card holders. To develop check-out satisfaction they use self check-out tills. The internet is becoming more and more important and www.tesco.com is a good example of another technology initiative which has become a success since they launched their online shopping service in 1997. Procurement Tesco deals with a lot of procurement like the buildings they operate their stores in, the IT equipment and buying tills for the stores. Things people do not think about when shopping at Tescos like the lightning in the store, air-conditioning, ovens for the bakery and the take-away food, cleaning machines etc. A huge corporation like Tesco operates so many machines and spends millions on procurement which needs to be controlled by the management. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Good financial management and being the leader in market positions has served Tesco well during the year to face the challenges of consumer environment. The objective of the organization is to continue the pursue long-term strategy which would help the management to be in a much stronger position once the markets emerge from the economic meltdown. BALANCE SHEET ANALYSIS From the balance sheet we can understand the development of Tesco over the years; the company has increased their fixed asset by increasing their level of plant and property. This is largely due to the new hypermarkets and supermarket which Tesco guaranteed to provide by the end of 2008. Investment and joint ventures decreased of the company, last year the company recognized a joint venture in India with Tata group to support a retail store under the brand name STAR-BAZAR, this was one of Tescos entry strategy to method to flag ship the Indian market. Loans and advances to customers increase, this was result to pay back later strategy issued by Tesco in their retail format. INCOME STATEMENT ANALYSIS Revenue for Tesco has increased over the past years, even with impact of recession but the profit was marginal. Along with the revenue, the cost of sales has increased too. Tesco over the year used certain promotional activities to increase revenue, one of their tactical methods was issuing promotional coupons but a part of the revenue mentioned includes unredeemed coupons. CASHFLOW STATEMENT Tesco derives most of their cash from their operating activities; their core business involves a lot of inflow and outflow of cash. Most of the cash flow out flow is for purchase of building, equipment and purchase of land, Tesco has significantly increased their joint ventures as a technique to capitalize international market. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS The operating profit of the firm has reduced marginally from 5.9% in 2008 to 5.4 percent in 2009. It shows that the firm has been controlling their cost in generating profit from sales especially at the times of recession; this also resulted in the fall of net profit margin. The first quarter improvement in 2010 has proved the company has got out of recession and growing into greater strengths and better economic times await the firm. BENCHMARKING Tesco is second largest retail in Europe in terms of revenue, with the company growing rapidly it is a growing threat for other large retailers. Wal-Mart and CarreFour have strategically emerged into global leaders, the variable factors which these company focused to grow big are Location: Wal-Mart and CarreFour has a total of 7,262 and 5643 stores respectively worldwide. Each and every store that Wal-Mart and CarreFour have opened in the past have been strategically assessed through the stages of macro location. The choice of a supermarket location is considered to be the single most important decision a retail organization has to make and is critical factor of success include Mobility and Time constraints Access to infrastructure Convenience for customers, suppliers and employees Tesco should understand location will impact on sales and distribution costs and competitive intensity may vary if there are strong local competitors in some regions. By implementing their location in apt geographic location the management can take advantage of lower distribution, assembly, raw materials or energy costs, and institutional factors such as government regulations. Cost may outweigh the benefits of owning a store in certain locations. Store Layout: Store design is a vital role to any successful retailing company around the world. There are three factors that come into play when you analyze store design through the customers point of view. The essential idea of store design is to make all customers feel comfortable and enjoy the area they shop in. The three important factors of store design are: Ambient dimension Social dimension Design dimension The above factors can be used to analyse in which way Wal-mart, Carrefour and Tesco operate with their own store design, focusing on their pacific target audience. Another way to analyse both Wal-mart and Tesco is by using the Mehrabian-Russell Model (1974). Mehrabian-Russell Model (1974) introduces the concepts of approach (positive) and avoidance (negative) behaviour, as well as pleasure and arousal. (retail marketing by Malcolm Sullivan and Dennis Adcock) Marketing Performance: According to Nielson Media Research, Tesco Spent  £62.9m on marketing which includes marketing for their own brand products as well. Wal-Mart spent  £34.8m on advertising; their marketing performance is commonly reflected by their ability to promote their own-brand as best as possible to increase the customer retention and not disappointing the shopper. They usually aim to get the customers in the stores by advertising well-known brand names and then focus the customers attention on own-brand goods. They attempt to attract the customers interest the moment they and to point-of-sale (PoS) as its a very cost effective way to promote own-brand products at a minimal cost. Overall the advantage of Wal-Mart and Tesco operating own-brand products allows the retailers to have larger profit margins compared to selling brand products as well as allows the retailers to enforce the relationship between them and the shopper. Own brands offer a point of difference to the competition, which can increase store reputation and customer loyalty. However the problem with own brand product is that many shoppers and influenced by brand goods and unwilling to buy own-brand goods as they can be seen as an inferior product. Nevertheless during an unstable economic climate such as the current recession, own brand goods are less vulnerable to the fluctuations of economical factors such as currency rates and inflation Customers: Tescos USP is it knowledge about their customers. Tesco has signed up 12 million of their customers for their Club card program, providing members discounts in exchange for their names, address and other personal information. The data collected lets Tesco give tailor made promotions for consumer and decide quickly new innovations initiatives employed are working. The Club-card has helped Tesco boost market share in groceries up to 31% double the 16% to Wal-Mart in the Uk. On the other hand Wal-Mart influences their customers by their strategy of low prices preferred over being personally influenced CONCLUSION Talking about Tescos strategic fit in the UK it is clear that they fit excellent. The indicators of this fit are as mentioned before; they are market leaders with a strong brand and because of their size they have competitive advantage over suppliers with economies of scale. As the UK is their domestic market they got the experience, know-how and knowledge of the environmental issues in the country and the food retail industry in general. The largest threats in the industry is the rivalry of the nearest competitors, however Tesco seems to have it under control because their market shares keeps rising and the competitors is still left behind. The second largest threat is the power of the consumer, however Tesco probably has the best consumer knowledge and customer management in the business, which allows them to implement new innovative food product and other investments which the consumer eventually obeys to. Tescos got the strategy to become even more powerful in UK and to increase the market share. In order to do so, I believe Tesco should focus even more on private label product because the margins are much higher than branded product (30 %). One of Tescos success factors is the private label area and Tesco generates high levels of loyalty which gives them the advantage to increase private label sales. In addition, Tescos ability to match products to customer needs from sophisticated scanning and loyalty schemes has become a strong opportunity and strength in their marketing strategy. Although Tesco has plenty of strengths and opportunities in UK, they are now focusing even more on areas outside the food retail industry. Because of the partly mature food market in UK they focus on international expenditure, online sale and non-food industry. Since the future is pointing in other directions for profit, it is therefore important that Tesco keeps a fine balance between the UK market and their new areas. The UK market still earns Tesco the highest profit which is used to expand in all the new areas. As Tesco is so heavily dependent of the UK market it is a threat if the UK economy decreases if the interest rates goes up, inflation raises, housing bubble bursts and of course if consumers expenditure decreases. All these assumptions can be negative towards Tescos future profit. As leading grocery experts observe, supermarkets in general and Tesco in particular will have to demonstrate continuously that they truly have consumer interests at heart, and that they are not abusing their enormous power just to enrich themselves (Seth Randall, 1999) I end my report on Tesco by using this statement from Seth Randall, 1999. From 1999 until today, Tesco has showed that they have consumer interests at heart and a long with the pursuit of larger economies of scale is probably the main reason why they are and will still be so successful compared to their competitors.

Lysistrata :: essays research papers

Lysistrata “There is no beast as shameless as a woman'; Aristophanes was a craft comedy poet in the fourth century B.C. during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes’ usual style was to be satirical, and suggesting the eccentric. The most absurd and humorous of Aristophanes’ comedies are those in which the main characters, the heroes of the story, are women. Smart women. One of the most famous of Aristophanes’ comedies portraying powerfully capable women is Lysistrata, named after the female lead character of the play. It depicts Athenian Lysistrata and the women of Athens teaming up with the women of Sparta to force their husbands to conclude the Peloponnesian War. The play is a comedy, which appears to be written for the amusement of men. The play can be seen as a historical reference to ancient Greece, but it seems highly unlikely that women would talk with such a crude sexual tone. Instead Lysistrata is strictly a satirical play written maybe even to make men doubt the innocence of a woman. If women were such beasts as Euripides stated then would women have managed to seize the Acropolis, and prevented the men from squandering them further on the war. Euripides might have referred to the vulgarity of the women’s thoughts and language: “It’s a sair thing, the dear knows, for a woman tae sleep alone wi’oot a prick – but we maun do it, for the sake of peace'; The language of the women is, as mentioned earlier, strictly for the humor. For Euripides to make such a quote seems rather incorrect. It is to a certain extent the men who are the shameless beasts who beat their wives and fight senseless wars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lysistrata, on the contrary shows women acting bravely and even aggressively against men who seem resolved on ruining the city- state by prolonging a pointless and excessively expending reserves stored in the Acropolis. The men being away at war would come home when they could, sexually relieve them selves and then leave again to precede a meaningless war. The women challenge the masculine role model to preserve traditional way of life in the community. When the women become challenged themselves they take on the masculine characteristics and defeat the men physically, mentally but primarily strategically. Proving that neither side benefits from it, just that one side loses more than the other. It gives the impression that the women are heroes and the men are ignorant, which contradicts what Euripides said but is chiefly written to entertain.