Heb Is the Best Store

H-E-B H-E-B is a popular grocery store in the community of Houston, TX. There are many aspects of H-E-B that appeal to the consumers in my area. Some good qualities of H-E-B are competitive pricing, friendly customer service, cleanliness, and a large variety of products. These positive qualities all come together to provide the consumer with an enjoyable shopping experience. H-E-B, which stands for Howard E. Butt, first began in as a small, family-owned store in 1905 in Kerrville, TX. Now H-E-B serves over 155 communities and has over 340 grocery stores throughout Texas and Mexico.H-E-B is one of the largest and most successful independently owned retailers nationwide. Their commitment to good service, low prices, and friendly shopping has benefited them well. You know when you shop at H-E-B, you will find great sales and fair pricing. They offer many in-store coupons and Buy One, Get One Free deals. They also offer a Meal Deal every week. In a Meal Deal, you buy an item and then get many items free! This week you get noodles, pasta sauce, and Italian soda for free when you buy frozen meatballs and shredded Parmesan cheese. Many people love to shop at H-E-B because they save a lot of money.When you shop at H-E-B, you can expect to receive friendly customer service. When you walk around the store, you get to try free samples of foods. They pay their employees well and always have enough people working. H-E-B is rarely understaffed. As a result, H-E-B manages to avoid having long lines a checkout. They also train their employees well, meaning they can provide knowledgeable assistance to their customers. Happy employees make happy customers. H-E-B keeps their stores very clean at all times. They offer antibacterial wipes at the entrance so you can wipe the shopping carts and remove the germs from previous customers.The bathrooms are always clean and smelling good. The merchandise is organized nicely and kept updated. Due to a high volume of shoppers, the products on the shelves are always fresh and not out-of-date. H-E-B offers a Freshness Guarantee for all of its products. This means that if you find an outdated product, you can bring it to the register and get the same item (not outdated) for free. H-E-B offers their customers a wide variety of foods and products. They have a bakery, a butcher, a pharmacy, a floral department, a healthy living department, a deli, and even a sushi chef!The produce department has conventional fruits and vegetables as well as organic and unusual types. They have a huge variety of cheeses, meats, bakery items, processed foods, and even ready-to-eat foods. A consumer can easily try something new every time they shop at H-E-B. You can drop by H-E-B and buy some sushi, some bananas, and even flowers for you mother! All these positive qualities about H-E-B come together to give the customer a pleasant and profitable shopping experience. These qualities are some of the reasons that H-E-B is the most popular grocery store in the community of Houston, TX.

Human Resources Constructive-Dismissal Report Essay

Message It has come to my unfortunate attention that a former employee has made a discrimation-focused legal claim against our company. My goal is to define â€Å"constructive dismissal†; explain the legal mandates to which it may be attributed; discuss the merits—or lack—of it; and offer future mitigative actions to avoid such claims. Constructive Dismissal—Defined Before delving into a serious discussion of the former employee’s claim, it is important to understand the legal construct upon which it has been founded; this construct is referred to as â€Å"constructive dismissal.† Constructive dismiissal refers to an employee compulsion to terminate any working relationships with an employer. The impetus for the termination is an employer’s willful intent to create a hostile or unbearable working condition. Legally speaking, constructive dismissal is, then, tantamount to involuntarily separating the employee from the company (United States Department of Labor, 2012). There are three standards that must be considered when adjudicating whether a situation falls within constructive-dismissal grounds. They are 1. Intolerable Conditions 2. Objective Standard 3. Employer Knowledge and Intent The adjective in the first standard is important, because it makes the distinction between undue working conditions that are unbearable for a reasonable person and a process change that may be inconvenient for the  employee but is not intolerable. Trival matters such as changing a computer from a PC to a Mac, are exmempt from this standard, since these frustrations are a normative in all areas of employment. The second standard establishes a consensus on what is considered intolerable. It is defined as a work environment in which a reasonable person would feel compelled to quit. The third standard is also important, because it clearly indicates that the employer must know that changes that it is implementing create an intolerable environment, and it does so with the intent of compelling an employee to quit as opposed to implementing changes that are motivated by a substantiated business need (Turner v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 1994). Please note that constructive dismissal does not necessarily imply discrimination (though it is almost always discrimination based), since it can apply to both those in a protected class or outside it. The ex-employee charges that the schedule change for the production department was an unreasonable action on the company’s part and resulted in her being forced to work on a holy day of her religious persuasion. Resultantly, she charges that she felt compelled to quit, which is why she has filed a constructive-discharge claim against the company. Constructive-Dismissal and Attendant Legal Mandates More than just creating such a toxic environment, when the working condition creates an undue effect based on the employee’s race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, or religion. the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act applies and sets forth: â€Å"(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such indviduals’race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or â€Å"(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which woulld deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin† (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2012). An amalgamation of undue effect and discrimination of a protected class engenders â€Å"disparate impact† (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2012) Employment separation due to disparate impact explicitly applies to the following sections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The onus of proof is placed on the claimant. This person must do the following:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"(i) a complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged practice is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity; or â€Å"(ii) the complaining party makes the demonstration described in subparagraph (C) with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such alternative employment practice. â€Å"(B) (i) With respect to demonstrating that a particular employment practice causes a disparate impact as described in subparagraph (A)(i), the complaining party shall demonstrate that each particular challenged employment practice causes a disparate impact, except that if the complaining party can demonstrate to the court that the elements of a respondent’s decisionmaking process are not capable of separation for analysis, the decisionmaking process may be analyzed as one employment practice. â€Å"(ii) If the respondent demonstrates that a specific employment practice does not cause the disparate impact, the respondent shall not be required to demonstrate that such practice is required by business necessity. â€Å"(C) The demonstration referred to by subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be in accordance with the law as it existed on June 4, 1989, with respect to the concept of â€Å"alternative employment practice†. â€Å"(2) A demonstration that an employment practice is required by business necessity may not be used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination under this subchapter. â€Å"(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, a rule barring the employment of an individual who currently and knowingly uses or possesses a controlled substance, as defined in schedules I and II of section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)), other than the use or possession of a drug taken under the supervision of a licensed health care professional, or any other use or possession authorized by the Controlled Substances Act [21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.] or any other provision of Federal law, shall be considered an unlawful employment practice under this subchapter only if such rule is adopted or applied with an intent to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin† (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2012). Although constructive dismissal is not directly referred to in the Civil Rights Act, it is clearly implied, since such a dismissal normally is directed at protected classes of individuals. When combined with disparate impact, constructive dismissal will fall under the purview of the Civil Right Act, and both are legally actional behaviors that the federal government will pursue through legal action and fines. It should be noted that the level of requisite integrity of constructive-dismissal claims can vary from state to state. For example, Washington extends a protected-class status to gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgender, or intersexed people, whereas Arizona extends no special class status to them. A constructive-dismissal claim due to sexual orientation in Washington would be considered; in Arizona, such a claim would not be considered. Furthermore, such a claim would face significant challenges if  appealed to federal levels, since federal laws offer no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation (Human Rights Campaign, 2012). In addition to constructive dismissal, the ex-employee charges that the schedule change infringed on her right to practice her religion, since she believed that she was required to work on a holy day. The Title VII Act explicitly prohibits discrimation based on religious affiliation. Constructive-Dismissal Merits The ex-employee’s claim does not satisfy constructive-dismissal, disparate-impact, and discrimination prohibitions. The facts of this case clearly indicate this. Let us apply this individual’s claim to the standards required for each prohibition. First, for constructive dismissal, our company must create a hostile environment for the sole purpose of compelling the employee to quit. The ex-employee believes that the schedule adjustment, which required 12-hour days for four days a week and with three days off, created a hostile environment. This particular aspect of this individual’s claim fails this test for a few reasons: 1) Business growth motivated the schedule adjustment, not malice; 2.) the schedule adjustment applied to the most affected department, which is production, since it is tasked with keeping up with the increased demand for our products; and 3.) we provided employees of that department schedule options; we did not constrain them to work on specific days that happened to be days of observance for their religion. Considering the schedule flexibility offered, if the ex-employee worked on a holy day, it was out of choice, not compulsion on the part of our company. Another implication in the above argument is that a different department did not have its schedule adjusted. As indicated above, we adjusted the schedule for the department that is directly affected by the business growth—the production department. There is no impetus for us to adjust schedules for the human-resources department, for example. Second, for objective standards, courts have repeatedly ruled that constructive dismissal is applicable if we create an environment that is so heinous, a reasonable person would quit. I have just indicated that our schedule adjustment was motivated by business need, not malice toward a particular individual or religion. All of the other employees took advantage of the schedule opportunity offered and chose days to work that were appropriate for their needs. There have been no other complaints of being forced to work or being unable to work on a non-holy day. Based on the scenario, it would not be reasonable to quit one’s job. Third, for employer knowledge and intent, it is true that we knew that the increase in business might have caused an impact on certain employees’ lives. We proactively remedied this situation by offering such a flexible schedule, with employees making their own choice of what days they would and would not work. Employees have nearly half their workweek off. There is no reason for an individual to work on a holy day. Also, our only intent was to meet our customers’ needs, so we adjusted our business processes to effectively do so. The underlying concern is that our actions were motivated by this individual’s religion. There is no tenable evidence to support such a concern. We hire a range of people with different religious beliefs. Some are unwilling to work on Sundays. Others are unwilling to work on Saturdays. Some require prayer at various points during the day. Where reasonable, we have always provided accommodations for such observances, and we did so with our schedule adjustment. There was no targeting of any religion. There is no veracity to the ex-employee’s claims. The company must respond to these charges. It can do so in one of three ways: 1. The company can ignore the facts of this scenario and accept that the ex-employee’s claims have merit and can then move to placate the ex-employee in a few ways: a. Rehiring the ex-employee and paying her retroactive pay for the time she did not work, b. Not rehiring the ex-employee but  offering a settlement to avoid a protracted legal scenario, or c. Rehiring the ex-employee and accommodating her schedule requests (Palopoli, 2011). 2. The company can enter into arbitration with the ex-employee to discuss the facts of the scenario, with the intention of arriving at an equitable solution that will placate the concerns of the ex-employee and the company (EEOC, 2012). 3. The company can refute the charges in a court of law, especially after the findings of an investigative company effort denote no actual discrimination or the appearance of it (Cruz, Padilla, & Narvae Law Firm, 2011). There are caveats to each of these responses, however. For Response 1, this action is a clear company admission of its culpability in discrimination within its organization. It is an unbalanced response, since it placates the ex-employee but tarnishes the name of the company. Furthermore, acquiescing to the ex-employee’s claims by adjusting the schedule may very well set an inappropriate expectation for other employees. An influx of schedule requests based on employees who invoke their religious preferences would thwart the purpose of the schedule request, which is to meet customer demand. For Response 2, the results of an arbitration hearing are legally binding and normally are a mitigative step against taking up the matter in a court of law. There is a likelihood, no matter how remote, that arbitration will result in our company’s acquiescing to the ex-employee’s claims. This eventuality can result in financal loss due to paying exorbitant sums to the ex-employee for what would amount to silencing her criticism of our company. Or if the results of the arbitration fall in line with the company’s wishes, the negative image that the ex-employee may generate would harm recruiting efforts of candidates or customers who increasingly place value on companies that demonstrate social responsbility toward people and its surroundings. For Response 3, the judgment in a legal case can be binding. There may be a remote possibility that our company may not vindicate itself fully in court. Because of the facts of the case, it would be reasonable to expect that our company would appeal. However, the cost to contend with the ex-employee in court may be prohibitively high. And even if our company emerges victoriously, the result would not constrain the ex-empoyee from tarnishing our company’s name in the marketplace. Based on the eventualities listed above, the viable course of action is Response 3. The actions of our company are sufficiently supported to provide a solid response in a legal setting. The likelihood of not prevailing in court is minimal. And although the opportunity cost to following this route is devoting funds unnecessarily to a baseless claim, vindication in court may very indicate to others who choose to bring dubious claims that our company will respond indignantly to these affronts to our company’s reputation. Responding to the baseless claim by pursuing the matter in court is a tenable position, since our anti-discrimination policy is clear. (In allusion to a subsequent section, the clarity of the policy does not imply that it has been adequately explained to prosepctive and current employees; a training program offered to our recruiting staff will resolve that matter.) Our greatest defense is in presenting this policy as evidence to the court. The policy clearly indicates that the company respects religion as a protected class and makes every effort to accommodate religious rites as long as they do not present an undue contravention of company operation (HR Info Center, 2009). A court-centered legal response to this claim is preferable also because of the investigative process that is extant within our anti-discrimination policy. The ex-employee did not provide our company an opportunity to investigate the claim before she resigned her position. The only indication that a problem existed was when the EEOC delivered the complaint to our company. Our investigative processes clearly demonstrate the thoroughness  and seriousness that our policy devotes to discrimination complaints. Multiple layers of leadership are involved in the process, and many employees are interviewed to determine if they shared the same sentiments. The investigative process is also confidential, and the results are shared with no entity without a need-to-know basis. Furthermore, the investigative process has corrective action built in if there is a determination of discrimination against the employee making the complaint. It also has a built-in anti-retaliation policy, regardless the result of the complaint. Our company can provide documented evidence of our response to past complaints as well as the company’s disposition toward employees after the resolution of these complaints. Demonstrating the company’s follow-through efforts that the ex-employee did not avail herself of will provide substantial support of our contention that we are committed to operating in a discrimination-free environment (Kleiner Perkins Files Legal Response To Gender Discrimination Suit, Denies â€Å"Each And Every Material Allegation, 2012). Another reason why pursuing this matter in a court of law is appropriate is that our company can demonstrate our commitment to investing in the community in which we operate, a diverse community. Our company currently provides several millions of dollars in tax revenue to the community, revenue from which all members of the community benefit. But more than tax revenue, our company provides financial support to various groups in the community: religious-based groups, gay-and-lesbian groups, black-focused groups, and women-centered groups. Our commitment to financially supporting the community is a potent response by itself to the baseless claima against us. Logically speaking, it would be nonsensical for our company to expend money for these community-focused endeavors while practicing discrimination against the very members of the groups that benefit from our financial support (Response to discrimination claims, 2007).

Icas Inkwell Essay

3.1.The weaknesses identifying in Inkwell Ltd are that one person operates the payroll system. Payroll and Personnel Database Clerk does not have enough experience and had only one day training to operate Sage. Employee is responsible for running two payrolls, a monthly payroll for management and salaries staff, and a weekly payroll for hourly paid staff. Recommendations to avoid errors and potential fraud are to appoint another person to overview and check the work. Another option is to employ second trained person or train one of the current employees to help Payroll and Personnel Database Clerk in duties, as well as replace in case of illness or holidays or to train one of the current employees from another department. 3.2.Company’s employees do not comply with the policy. Passwords are not kept secret and had not been changed since they were set-up. Every computer uses the same password. Unauthorised people have access to the computers, which may lead to fraud. Change the password on each computer and remind everyone to regularly change it, for instance, every six months. In addition, arrange a meeting with the staff and explain the policy with examples what may happen, if the staff does not comply with the policy. Point out that, if the rules continue to be broken, disciplinary actions would be taken. 3.3.Shops, warehouse and administration staff does not have system to sign in and out when arriving and leaving work. All wages paid rely on managers’ honesty to provide accurate and honest information. Recommendation is to purchase software, for instance ‘BePunctual Biometric Time and Attendance Tracking Software for Employee’. As well as set up a Network where all computers can be connected and data is available to other departments. 3.4.All computers in the company work as stand-alone. There is no network set-up to allow transfer of data, as well as access shared files in case of absence of the member of staff. Very useful would be to set-up a network connected by one server, when computers would integrate. This would save time on writing e-mails and copying data.

The retail industry in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The retail industry in China - Essay Example f various consumer protection legislations like 1993 Chinese Consumer Protection Laws and others that have resulted in high bargaining power of consumer in the Chinese market (Zhuang, Herndon & Zhou, 2003, p.42). Bargaining Power of Suppliers In the past history Chinese suppliers had an edge over the retailer primarily due to legislative policies like the planned price based system. This helped the suppliers to have greater bargaining power. However with the abolition of this policy has led to suppliers in a situation of overstocking that has forced them to lower prices that has in turn heavily reduced the bargaining power of the suppliers. In addition to this the emergence of private label brands and supermarkets has also considerably dented the bargaining power of the suppliers. Hence it can be easily stated that the extent of this force in the Chinese retail industry is low (Zhuang, Herndon & Zhou, 2003, p.40-41). Threat of New Entrants The Chinese retail industry was initially hi ghly protected by the government that made it difficult for new players to enter the market, however with liberalization coming in a step by step manner, the entry barriers have decreased owning to smaller economies of scale in the retail industry. However, the coming up of international supermarkets has also threatened the existence of small individual retailers and has also increased the entry barriers for the new players (Bird et. al, n.d., p.44). Competition among the Existing Players The opening up of the Chinese economy and its liberalization has increased the number of competitors in the market. The emergence of international retailers has further increased the extent of the competition in the retail market. The figure below shows the list of top ten retail brands in the multi brand... According to the research findings the age of globalization has opened up a plethora of opportunities for business organizations operating in the present world. Globalization has rendered the entire world into a boundary less market with organizations trying to establish their presence in the market. The growth of free trade as well as emergence of developing economies like China and India also have opened up new vistas for firms trying to expand their business in the wake of saturation of the traditional markets of Europe and USA. However international expansion also involves considerable planning as there are considerable entry barriers in new markets as well as other forces that affect the business prospects of firms. The analysis of the Chinese retail market shows considerable advantage considering the rapid economic growth of the nation. The analysis of the five forces model reveals that the competitive landscape is very congenial for investing in the market. However certain ent ry barriers like government regulations can emerge as a considerable source of barrier for new foreign players to establish their presence in the market. However since the competitive landscape of the market has become extremely competitive hence, it has become somewhat difficult for new market payers and instantly grab the market share. The key lies in formulating an optimum service mix that can help in generating competitive edge for an organization.

Government Regulations towards Small & Medium Enterprises Essay

Government Regulations towards Small & Medium Enterprises - Essay Example The hypotheses are then tested against the observed characteristics of entrepreneurs and small business owners in the real world. However, there are a number of problems with this approach that have been discussed as follows:- 1. Some regions are more favored than others at establishing successful small businesses and entrepreneurs and hence their economic development is more successful. The question of whether this is due to characteristics in the population or due to certain aspects of the environment and infrastructure which enable potential entrepreneurs to exploit their skills and opportunities more easily, remains, at this stage, an open one. For example, research undertaken for Scottish Enterprise (2), after concern with low participation rates in entrepreneurship, showed that a complex series of factors contributed to low participation rates in Scotland. For example, the historical dependence of the population on a limited number of large employers coupled with inward investment (North Sea oil) had produced a 'dependency culture', that is, that people were used to depending on large employers for employment. Thus, the thought of going into business on their own account did not come easily to them. Yet other factors were important as well such as lack of finance. This example shows why participation rates might be different in particular regions for varying complex reasons. 2. Concern has been expressed at the existence of latent entrepreneurial talent. For example, why are there so few successful female entrepreneurs Again this remains open question which appears to have no simple solution but rather is caused by a complex combination of social and economic reasons. Little research has been conducted specifically on these groups in the UK, although a study carried out by the David Deakins and Ram (3) with African - Caribbean entrepreneurs suggests that motivations among this minority group in the UK consists of a combination of positive (pull) and negative (push) factors. Positive factors are associated with the attractions of entrepreneurship and negative factors are associated with limited opportunities in the inner-city and deprived urban environments. 3. Attention has focused on the role of networks in successful entrepreneurial development. For example, some research suggests that inter-firm networks contribute to successful entrepreneurship as discussed below. Start-ups (4): We know that a high proportion of new firms fail within three years of start - up. For example, in the UK, 30 percent of new firms cease trading by the third year and 50 percent by the fifth year. In addition, there is only a small proportion that grow to employ 50 workers. One of the factors is the potential loss of control faced by the entrepreneur as the firm grows. New small firms and entrepreneurs that are successful are predominantly located in the South - East in the UK. This suggests that the environment and infrastructure is at least as important as the characteristics of the entrepreneur. It is also likely that the development of inter-firm networks is more advanced in the South - East than in other regions of the UK. Inter -Organizational Networks (5): The inter-organizational

Branding, Pricing and Distribution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Branding, Pricing and Distribution - Assignment Example Based on psychographic variables, BEVRET offers a drink not just to quench thirst but as a lifestyle beverage. Thus the beverage should be promoted as a drink that stirs imagination. The tagline for the brand should be Drink fresh; Live life! Or, we love to see you live! This is meant to attract people who want to really live and not just exist! Brands are sold through feelings and the brand should be able to create an emotional link between the consumer and the brand (Moorthi, 2004). The logo should be trendy and carry the flavor of the new age and be futuristic. It should feature in all points of communication. Since most popular brands in Europe have been selling for a long time, BEVRET should create a point of differentiation in packaging. This differentiation is essential as the product will sit on the shelf with probably ten other products. It should use neon colors in packaging because color is the first touch point with the customer. Color influences emotion and the first poi nt of interaction is shaped by color. About 60-80% of the purchase decision is based on product color (Markowitz, 2010). Neon colors are bright and attract immediate attention. Apart from color, packaging should also focus on the container in which beer is sold. If the container can be made of a material that can be used to drink beer as well, small package containing one serving of beer, it would serve multi-purpose, benefit the customer, benefit the environment and also be cost-effective for the company. To enhance branding, BEVRET should have strong activity on the social media. Europeans are sport lovers and hence sponsorship of sports can enhance brand value. In addition, as the social media is the most popular promotional tool, BEVRET should invite online discussions on short documentaries created on sports personalities. Its tagline and logo should be included in all its mails that go viral. The tagline should become the point of identification for the brand. In addition, the brand should associate with leading restaurants and pubs, and participate in events such as Valentine’s Day. Promotion material can take the form of messages made viral through the social media. The events should be promoted through the social media and special beer offers should be made for those purchasing coupons through the social media. Promotional brochures should also be placed at all convenience stores, at the local gyms, pubs and social clubs. These brochures can carry limited validity coupons as a market entry strategy, offering discounts. Initially for the first few months, the company can distribute free t-shirts with BEVRET logo and tagline with a certain amount of purchases. Pricing Pricing decision includes profit margins, discounts, margin for retailers and wholesalers. It also has to be based on product demand and competitor pricing. Competition is high and the beer market is concentrated and hence the pricing has to consider competition pricing. When the br and value increases, pricing can be increased but initially to capture a sizeable market, pricing should be kept low. At the same time, discounts can be offered in markets closer to breweries as the transportation costs would be low or negligible. Within Europe beer prices differ across regions and countries. The variation in prices can be considerable and these variations occur because of cost variations as well as the ability of the brewers to price discriminate (EconomicsOnline, 2011). If certain necessary conditions are

Change of Management - OH&S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Change of Management - OH&S - Essay Example In the entire process, stakeholders and those affected by change normally have to absorb the simple elements that define and make up the change process. As a result, time, effort and resources are required in order to make the process of change adoption more smooth and possible. Moreover, change is complex, which requires planning, organization, and implementation. Throughout the entire process of change, communication remains the critical aspect that glues the entire process of change. The concept of change as it is applicable in the organization has two major components; that of organizational change itself, and the change of people within the environment where people affected with change are perceived to be crucial to the success of change process. The understanding here is that successful application of change management should integrate the people within the organization and more so the entire process need to be inline with the values of the corporation or organization involved. The University’s Occupational Health and Safety Risk Management (OHSRM) system was established in 2002, in consultation with academic and administrative groups, as a practical mechanism to assist managers and staff at all levels to systematically manage OHS risks in their work areas. It is a key element in promoting the health, safety and well being of staff, students and visitors, and enabling compliance with NSW OHS legislation. As part of the OHSRM, an OHS Audit was undertaken in late 2010. The Faculty of Health Sciences which currently employs approximately 350 staff and educates 5,500 students, scored 20%, the lowest Faculty score within the University. The Faculty will be re audited in November 2011 and it is expected to achieve a minimum of 70%. The survey results portrayed an initial diagnosis of staff being unaware of safety procedures, evacuation plans, who to report incidents and hazards to. However, it was unknown if this was all staff or only

The Death Penalty for Drug Offences in Saudi Arabia A violation of Essay

The Death Penalty for Drug Offences in Saudi Arabia A violation of international human rights law - Essay Example Approximately two hundred years ago the history witnessed a war between the China and the United Kingdom on this issue. The drug barons in the different parts of the world caused higher number of casualties in the exchange of fire du between the drug dealers and the law enforcing agencies. To combat with this menace effectively, countries are focusing and funding on educating people, taking preventive measures and treatment program to save their future generation (Worldwide Drug Laws, 2012). It is a matter of fact that the United States of America today known as the largest illicit drug consumable country of the world. The American law enforcers, despite of their best efforts yet to see the desired results to weed out illicit drug consumption from its administrative jurisdiction and in the jurisdiction of other parts of the world. It is interesting to note that Americans while chasing the goose, sometimes even don’t mind to respect the boundaries and sovereignty of the indepen dent states. In this respect we may quote here the examples of Middle Eastern, South Asian and the African countries (Worldwide Drug Laws, 2012). In some parts of the world harmful drug control policies are strictly and rigidly enforced. Take the example of Malaysia and Thailand wherein the possessor of illegal drugs gets imprisonment of 15 to 20 years. Some countries are even more rigid in the drug policies they enforced. In Malaysia and Thailand possession of illicit drugs can result in 15 to 20 years in prison. In the mentioned countries, drug trafficking / distribution of illegal drugs amongst the users amounts to capital punishment in the shape of death sentence. The Indonesians are not far behind in awarding death sentence to drug traffickers irrespective of locals or foreigners. For the last seven years the Indonesian awarded ten Australians death penalty on the charge of drug smuggling into Indonesian territory (Worldwide Drug Laws, 2012). Death Penalty for Drug Offenders wo rldwide Hundreds of drug offenders met death penalty every year by rigidly enforced drug control laws. In this respect, we see two extreme scenarios i.e. increased executions and reduced moratorium. There are number of countries that have dropped death sentences whereas the other countries recommend death penalty to combat this menace effectively (IDPC, 2010). We have the best example in awarding death sentence to drug offenders are Malaysia and Singapore where many people in the yester years put to death on illicit drug related crimes. The exemplary punishment given to the law breakers helped above countries to reduce the number of crimes. Amongst 32 states, we have witnessed capital punishment on committing drug related crimes in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia and China in the shape of death sentence. Although the majority of the European Scholars thought it to be the capital punishment for the drug offenders and a flagrant violation of international human rights law (IDP C, 2010). Due to best reasons known to the Chinese, China kept secret its statistics of death toll to the world. The exemplary punishment awarded to the drug offenders somehow proved instrumental in reducing the narcotics concerning crimes although much work to be done for its complete eradication (IDPC, 2010). Iran is no exception to it. In Iran such offences are unavoidable and attract

I am not sure the topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

I am not sure the topic - Research Paper Example Both flora and fauna have been affected as a result of the release of factory effluents into rivers that are used by the local people. As such, the main purpose of the research will be to highlight the improvements that have been made to reduce and avoid the adverse effects of the waste released from the company into the surrounding environment. Table of Contents I. Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 II. Executive summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..3 III. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 IV. Factors that Lead to poor waste disposal by factory management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 a. Actions Taken by the factory Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...4 b. Locals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 c. Government and Non Governmental Organization†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...5 V. Analysis of the Nature of Pollutants†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..5 a. Components†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 b. ... Conclusions and Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 VIII. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦10 IX. Works Cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦12 II. Executive summary Pollution has been found to be a serious issue within many societies. This is especially when it results from the numerous efforts that have been made to bring about development and make life better for the local people. The growth of many different cities in the world has necessitated an improvement in the form of infrastructure. In this relation, they have experienced the growth and development of buildings and road networks as well as the number of motor vehicles in operations. In such cities, there has also been a growth of factories, companies and factories in the effort to provide job opportunities for their growing populations (Hassan, 1998). A proper example of this is the St. Joe paper mills factory that was built in Jacksonville, F.L, in the effort to ensure expansion and growth as well as provision of more job opportunities for those living within the area. In this sense, the St. Joe paper mills factory was established in order to provide employment for the local people of the area as well as lead to development of the region. However, with time of its operations, it has been a serious risk to the local people due to the hazardous conditions that it exposes them. This is brought about by the release of its waste products into the rivers around the area. Most of these are used by the inhabitants of the area and as a result present health cha llenges to them. In this relation, the water from such rivers is not usually fit for

Understand the role of the Social Care Worker Essay Example for Free

Understand the role of the Social Care Worker Essay Ai: Three differences between a working relationship and a personal relationship are: A working relationship is a relationship that remains professional within the workplace where as a personal relationship you may spend time with someone out of work hours. A personal relationship is a relationship in which information sharing is unlimited yet a working relationship information sharing is on a need to know basis with colleagues, residents and other professionals. A personal relationship is one of choice with someone you like and share common interests where as a working relationship may be with someone you may not usually be friends with but have to form a team with that person and work under certain rules. Aii: One example of a working relationship in an adult social care setting is the relationship between carer and resident. This relationship is important as you need to maintain a professional duty of care. Another example would be between the senior in charge and the G.P. When a G.P comes to see a resident that is poorly they are relying on the carers and the senior in charge to inform them of any changes in that resident so they need to be professional at all times. Aiii: It is important that social care workers work in partnership with individuals using the service and their families because we all have a common interest in doing whats best for the individual and keeping them from harm. The service user is there because they may not have someone that can look after them the way they need therefore involving families and help to improve the way you care for them. For example, you might think that â€Å"Doris† may like going to bed at 10pm every night but is always very tired during the day after getting up at 7am. The family can tell you that in fact â€Å"Doris† used to go to bed at 9pm and likes getting up at 8am when she was at home. It is  essential to establish and maintain a good working relationship with family as they can also help to overcome any communication issues you may have with that service user and also find out their preferences for food choices. It’s all about person centered care. The resident is less open to abuse as there are clear boundaries and expectations of the social care workers relationship. Aiv: Three ways of working that can help improve partnership working are: Involve the resident in all decision making regarding their care plans for example what time they like to go bed, whether they prefer a bath or shower and if they like to go out on planned outings Give them a choice at meal times and what they would like to wear that day Try to promote their independence by giving them as much do to by themselves as possible for them without allowing them to struggle and that someone is there if they need a hand. Av: When people with different views, skills and expertise work together there may be disagreements about the best way forward. Here is five different skills or approaches that may help resolve conflict. 1.By listening to each side may help you and others see that your way may or not be the best way 2.By compromising you can figure out the best outcome by thinking about all possible solutions 3.Stay calm. If you start to lose your temper than the problem isnt going to get resolved 4.Communication is key. By talking it through you all may come up with a suitable solution as a team 5.By using a person centered approach everyone has the residents best interests at heart. Avi: Two ways in which you could obtain support and advice about working in partnership and resolving conflicts are by talking to colleagues and senior members of staff. They may have more experience and knowledge when dealing with conflicts or partnership working. The manager can help you by offering a professional solution to conflicts and follow the complaints procedure. If necessary the manager will enable you to access conflict management training or any other training that may be relevant. Task B Bi: Agreed ways of working means: That you should keep up to date with legislation Follow policies and procedures Work within your job description Work within your code of conduct Work in line with care standards Bii: Its important to have up to date details regarding the agreed ways of working because if a piece of legislation changes, as they do quite regularly, you need to know what is expected of you. When I was pregnant in order to keep myself, my colleagues and the residents safe my job description changed slightly and my new agreed ways of working were updated regularly. These changed back when I returned to work after having the baby. Biii: Where I am not trained in giving medication if I was to carry out this task I would be liable if something was to go wrong. I do not carry out tasks that are not within my job description and that i have not been trained in as these are not within my agreed ways of working. Its important to follow these guidelines so that I do not cause harm to myself, my colleagues or the residents.

Tesco Rapidly Changing Environment Business Essay

Tesco Rapidly Changing Environment Business Essay Todays world is a rapidly changing place. Part of rapidly changing environment that managers face is the globalization of business. Management is no longer constrained by national borders. In order to function and to survive, organization has to interact constantly with the world outside. Developments across a range of factors will have an impact on your business or industry. Business environment is a set of political, economic, social and technological (PEST) forces that are largely outside the control and influence of a business and that can potentially have both a positive and a negative impact on the business. You need to understand how the external environment affects and influences the organization structure. In this situation for achieving high performance manager need to adapt an organization. In this report TESCOs business environment is describe here. Using SWOT and PESTLE analysis tool TESCOs business strategy clearly define. Introduction of TESCO Tesco was founded by Sir Jack Cohen in 1924. In 1919 Jack Cohen started to selling groceries in Londons markets. The Tea is the first product in which the brand name of Tesco appeared in 1920. So the name Tesco comes from the initials of TE Stockwell who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers. The first store of Tesco was opened in 1929 in Burnt oak, Edgware. Today TESCO is one of the top three international retailers with 366,000 worldwide staff, more than 2500 stores in twelve countries which sales  £41.8 billion. The vision and philosophy of TESCO is that Every Little Helps is behind everything we do. The Corporate Social Responsibility policy objective is to earn the trust of customers by acting good services and good relation between customers and suppliers and by building goodwill. They doing this only for earn customers loyalty and it is core purpose of Tesco. Tesco has four types of store formats for instance, Tesco Metro, Tesco Express, Tesco superstore and Tesco Extra (24 hour) all of them provide different shopping experience but same outstanding value. Tesco sells both food and non-food items. The leading market position improves its brand image and it provides a platform to start private label brands. The items include food, CDs, Books, medicine, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, alcohol, clothes, toys and electrical goods. Tesco has an exciting brand name. It is related with the good quality, honest goods and services that characterize excellent value. A strong brand name and moreover the attractive customer preservation rates are helps the group to introduce more products under its own labels and allocate it to enter new markets. Tesco.com is one of the leading online grocery shopping services in the world and the fourth biggest online retailer in the UK. Amazon, Dell and Argos are placed in the first three positions. Tesco.com serves m ore than one million regular customers in the UK including households from both urban and rural areas. The group has developed tesco.com-only store, an online service, for the customer in the UK with limited accessibility to physical stores. Tesco operates three types of operations: The First one is UK operations; it is categorized by five formats which are different from size, location and products. The largest operation of UK is in new cast. In addition to food, it also operates in the non food fragment items including clothing, electrical goods, home entertainment, stationery, kitchen items and furnitures. The Second operation is outside UK. The other British retailers who tried to expand international business have failed but Tesco has been succeeding to build an international business. It started this operation in 2004. The Third one is Internet operations. In 1994 Tesco also started to operate internet and it is the first retailer in the world who offered home shopping service since 1996. It expanded online ranges as books, wine, movies and electrical goods. From the above information it is clear that although the performance of TESCO has been affected in some areas but it has still value in the market due to reput ation and name of TESCO in the market. However TESCO achieved its target in food sector. TESCO ltd has been survived through competition over the last four years in the market but still it is one of the largest retailer companies in the UK. SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps managers to focus on key issues. SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and Threats are external factors. Strengths In global market place TESCO have secured commercial standing because of winning World Retail Awards in Year 2008. This can be used for marketing campaigns to drive advantage towards the demographic base for future growth and sustainability. In an environment where global retail sales are showing decline TESCO Group has published sales gain of 13% for UK markets and 26% growth in international markets. Tesco.com is the worlds biggest online supermarket. Tesco online now operates in over 270 stores around the country, covering 96% of the UK. With over a million households nationwide having used the companys online services, the company has a strong platform to further develop this revenue stream. Profits for Tescos operations in Europe, Asia and Ireland increased by 78% during the last fiscal year. The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. Since acquiring number one ranking in 1996, Tesco has developed a successful multi format strategy that has accelerated its advantage. Its UK sales are now 71% larger than Sainsburys. Weaknesses: TESCOs position as a price leader in UK markets can lead to reduced profit margins in order to retain the key price points on must have commercial items. TESCO Finance profit levels were impacted through credit card arrears, bad debt and household insurance claims. One of Tescos weaknesses has been its failure to dominate the city centre marketplace. Although it has some prominent city centre stores, e.g. the Carlisle store in the North of England, it has failed to make them universal. Grocer outlets are not set up to operate as specialist retailers in specific areas of product which can be capitalized on by other smaller bespoke retailers. Opportunities: Statistics suggest TESCO is the third largest global grocer which indicates a level of buying power to ensure mainstream economies of scale. The acquisition of whoever provides the opportunity to develop the brand through Asia, specifically South Korea and further grow International markets for the group. The development of Tesco Direct through online and catalogue shopping will grow the use of technology. Providing non food based products with moderate to high margin returns and less focus on sales and margin per foot return to space. TESCO mobile have grown 0.25 million customers in 2008 and moved into profitable status suggesting further growth and development within this technological area can be developed. Threats: Food and non food items raw material cost is rising, will impact profit margins overall. In far East locations exporting restrictions on some non food product areas will reduce margin rates on products with already low margins. American and UK markets have been affected by economic concerns through the credit crunch. Lower available income will impact and strategic focus may need to change to lower priced basic products with less focus on higher priced brands suggesting a switch in price architecture. For TESCO, there is a persistent threat of takeover from the market leader Wal-Mart who has both means and motive to pursue such action. PESTLE analysis: In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organizations supply and demand levels and its costs (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1991; Johnson and Scholes, 1993). Because of ongoing changes that impact the whole organization. PESTLE analysis categorizes environmental influences as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal forces. The analysis examines the impact of each of these factors (and their interplay with each other) on the business. Using these results take advantage of opportunities and to make contingency plans for threats when preparing Business and Strategic plans. Political Factors: Tesco now operates in six countries in Europe in addition to the UK. Tescos performance is highly influenced by the political and legislative conditions of these countries, including the European Union (EU). For employment legislations, the government encourages retailers to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (Balchin, 1994). Also to meet the demand from population categories such as students, working parents and senior citizens. Tesco understands that retailing has a great impact on jobs and people factors, being an inherently local and labour-intensive sector. Tesco employs large numbers of student, disabled and elderly workers, often paying them lower rates. In an industry with a typically high staff turnover, these workers offer a higher level of loyalty and therefore represent desirable employees. Economical Factors: Economic factors are of concern to Tesco, because they are likely to influence demand, costs, prices and profits. One of the most influential factors on the economy is high unemployment levels, which decreases the effective demand for many goods, adversely affecting the demand required to produce such goods. These economic factors are largely outside the control of the company, but their effects on performance and the marketing mix can be profound. Although international business is still growing and is expected to contribute greater amounts to Tescos profits over the next few years, the company is still highly dependent on the UK market. Hence, Tesco would be badly affected by any slowdown in the UK food market and are exposed to market concentration risks. Social Factors: Current trends indicate that British customers have moved towards one-stop and bulk shopping, which is due to a variety of social changes. Tesco have, therefore, increased the amount of non-food items available for sale. UK retailers are also focusing on added-value products and services. In addition, the focus is now towards; the supply chain, the own-label share of the business mix and other operational improvements, which can drive costs out of the business. National retailers are increasingly reticent to take on new suppliers (Clarke, Bennison and Guy,1994; Datamonitor Report, 2003). The type of goods and services demanded by consumers is a function of their social conditioning. Consumers are becoming more and more aware of health issues, and their attitudes towards food are constantly changing. One example of Tesco adapting its product mix is to accommodate an increased demand for organic products. The company was also the first to allow customers to pay in cheques and cash at the checkout. Technological Factors: Technology is a major macro-environmental variable which has influenced the development of many of the Tesco products. The new technologies benefit both customers and the company: customer satisfaction rises because goods are readily available, services can become more personalized and shopping more convenient. Tesco stores utilize the following technologies: Wireless devices Intelligent scale Electronic shelf labeling Self check-out machine Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The adoption of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities, with needs being communicated almost in real time to the supplier (Finch, 2004). Environmental Factors: In 2003, there has been increased pressure on many companies and managers to acknowledge their responsibility to society, and act in a way which benefits society overall (Lindgreen and Hingley, 2003). The major societal issue threatening food retailers has been environmental issues, a key area for companies to act in a socially responsible way. Hence, by recognizing this trend within the broad ethical stance. Tescos corporate social responsibility is concerned with the ways in which an organization exceeds the minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through regulation and corporate governance. (Johnson and Scholes, 2003) Graiser and Scott (2004) state that in 2003 the government has intended to launch a new strategy for sustainable consumption and production to cut waste, reduce consumption of resources and minimize environmental damage. The latest legislation created a new tax on advertising highly processed and fatty foods. The so-called fat tax directly affected the Tesco product ranges that have subsequently been adapted, affecting relationships with both suppliers and customers. Legal Factors: Various government policies and legislations have a direct impact on the performance of Tesco. For instance, the Food Retailing Commission (FRC) suggested an enforceable Code of Practice should be set up banning many of the current practices, such as demanding payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices retrospectively or without notice (Mintel Report, 2004). The presence of powerful competitors with established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector with such controls as license requirements and limits on access to raw materials (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). In order to implement politically correct pricing policies, Tesco offers consumers a price reduction on fuel purchases based on the amount spent on groceries at its stores. While prices are lowered on promoted goods, prices elsewhere in the store are raised to compensate. Organizational Business Strategy: To produce great business performance it is necessary to turn strategies and plan into individual actions but it is not easy. Many companies repeatedly fail to truly motivate their people to work with enthusiasm, all together towards the corporate aim. Most companies and organizations know their businesses and strategies required for success. However many corporations especially large ones struggle to translate the theory into action plans that will enable the strategy to be successfully implemented and sustained. Formalization: Formalization is the extent to which rules and procedures are followed in an organization. This element varies across organizations. For example in some organization arrival and departure times to and from work are specified. In other organizations employees will spend sufficient time on the job to get the work done. In some organizations many rules are codified in huge manuals but no one pays attention to them. In others little is written down but rules are informally understood and followed. The most useful definition of formalization is that it represents the use of rules in an organization. The degree to which rules are followed not the degree to which they are codified. In Tesco shift type working system is there. Time punctuation is most important in Tesco. Each and every staff wears particular uniform. Specialization: Work specializations to describe the degree to which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs. The essence of work specialization is that rather than an entire job being done by one individual it is broken down into a number of steps with each step being completed by a separate individual. In essence individuals specialize in doing part of an activity rather to the entire activity. In Tesco according to different positions different roles are there like general manager, purchasing manager, technical manager, finance manager, HR manager, customer service assistance etc. Hierarchy: In a hierarchical organization employees are ranked at various levels within the organization, each level is one above the other. At each stage in the chain, one person has a number of workers directly under them, within their span of control. The chain of command is a typical pyramid shape. A tall hierarchical organisation has many levels and a flat hierarchical organisation will only have a few. Tesco has a flat hierarchical structure with just six levels between checkout staff and chief executive. Each store manager is responsible for their store. External Environment: In retail Tesco is top of supermarket in UK. There are many competitors like Asda, Sainsbury. In current market position Tescos share is more than other retail company. Every year growth of Tesco is increase. In market position Tesco is stable. Culture: Tesco is now in international market. In Tesco many different culture people are working together not any obligation for culture and peoples value is same. In Tesco clear norms and value are there. Professionalism: Training is most important for every company. In some companies training is given by professional way while in small companies training is formal. Tesco gives high professional training. Goals and Strategy: Top management is to determine an organizations goals, strategy and design. Organizations mission is the official goal whereas in organization actually pursues, specific outcomes like resources, overall performance, market, employ development, innovation, productivity are operative goals. Strategy means plan for achieving organizational goals in competitive environment. Goals define where the organization wants to go, strategy how it will get there. Tescos main goal is to create value for customer to earn their lifetime loyalty. For achieving this goal Tesco do something new for customer. Tesco will remove plastic and paper bags. Size: Size of company is determined by number of stores it has and number of employees it has. It is also determined by revenue of company. It had revenue of 47.3 billion pounds for the year 2008. This made Tesco the fourth largest retailer of the world. Tesco is operating as 2318 stores and more than 326000 employees. Conclusion:

Strategic Management Of Ryanair Commerce Essay

Strategic Management Of Ryanair Commerce Essay Ryanair was set up in 1985 andzz is one of the oldest and most successful low-cost airlines of Europe. In fact, Ryanair was one of the first independent airlines in Ireland. In 2001, many believed that Ryanair was like the Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines of Europe. Ryanair transformed the Irish air services market where other airlines like Avair failed to compete with the more powerful national carrier Aer Lingus. 2. INTRODUCTRION RYANAIR: The ‘Southwest of European Airlines in 2007 Ryanair, Europes biggest low-fares airline (LFA ) reported its third quarter results for 2007 with net profits dropping 27 percent compared to a net profit of 48 million a year earlier. Ryanair cited poor market conditions, fuel costs (oil prices at $90 a barrel) and concerns on recession in the UK and many other European economies for its current performance and not so strong future profit expectations. With average winter fares dropping almost 5 percent its underlying net profit in the three months to end December fell to 35 million euros ($52 million). Other factors that contributed included doubling of airport charges combined with reduction of winter capacity at Stinted , significant cost increases at Dublin Airport combined with longer sector lengths and staff costs which increased by 18 pct to 67 million euros. Ryanairs net profit figure excluded a one-off gain of 12.1 million euros ($17.99 million) arising from the disposal of 5 Boeing 737-800 aircrafts. 3. CURRENT FACT THAT MAKES RYANAIR SUCCESSFUL * the Worlds favourite airline * 37 bases and 950+ low fare routes across 26 countries, connecting 150 destinations * 210 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft with firm orders for a further 102 new aircraft * employs a team of more than 7 000 people * expects to carry approximately 66 million passengers 4. ENVIRONMNETAL ANALYSIS 4.1 PESTEL ANALYSIS For determining the key issues will be faced by any of internationally growing organisation such as Ryanair, PESTEL analysis plays a key role to highlight the problems in different sectors of competition issues. These factors are mentioned below: 4.1.1 POLITICAL FACTOR * Strengths and pressure of trade unions. * Global Village (I-e Growth and expansion of EU countries). * Terrorism increased number of security measures. * Involvement of environmental organisations is increasing environmental protection charges. * Support of French government to their own national airlines. 4.1.2 ECONOMIC FACTOR * Day by day increase in fuel charges.  · Devaluation of dollar price.  · Increase use of high speed travelling through cars and trains.  · European Union expansion. 4.1.3 SOCIAL FACTOR * Increase in grey market * Increasing travelling lifestyle * Increasing business travelling 4.1.4 TECHNOLOGICAL FACTOR  · Increasing volume of internet advertising.  · Use of satellite TV.  · Environmental friendly cars (Hybrid technology).  · Internet competition. 4.1.5 ENVIRONMENT FACTOR  · Control of noise level.  · Green house / carbon emission effect. 4.1.6 LEGAL FACTOR * Misleading advertisement driving towards increased number of allegations * Illegal subsidies for Airports * Wheelchair charges 4.2 PORTERS FIVE FORCES 4.2.1 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIER (LOW) 1. Boeing is RAs main suppliers 2. Only 2 possible suppliers of planes Boeing and Airbus witching costs from one supplier to the other is high because all mechanics and pilots would have to be retrained. 3. Price of aviation fuel is directly related to the cost of oil (Ryanair controls these through hedging). 4. Regional Airports have little bargaining power as they are heavily dependent on one airline 5. Bigger airports, where Ryanairs competitors operate, have greater bargaining power. Ryanairs policy is to try and avoid these airports. 4.2.2 BUYER POWER (LOW) LOW Bargaining Power of Customers 1. Customers are price sensitive 2. Switching to another airline is relatively simple and is not related to high costs (Internet-all airlines are online) 3. Customers know about the cost of supplying the service 4. No loyalty 4.2.3 THREATS OF NEW ENTRANTS (HIGH) LOW New Entrants 1. Some barriers to entry (restricted number of licenses for air carriers) 2. High capital investment 3. Restricted slot 4.2.4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES (HIGH) 1. Fast speed trains running on short hales. 2. New hybrid technology introduced in the new cars which save fuel of holidaymakers and thay can enjoy nice breaks in different countries. 3. Other competitive new European airlines. 4.2.5 COMPETITIVE RIVALERY (MEDIUM) 1. Deregulations and increase in number of new routes will encourage other people carriers/ competitors to fill the gap which indicates the sign of increase in buyer power. 2. New mergers and alliances by big airlines such as British Airways and Iberia. 3. Other big competitors such as Air France and KLM etc. Will attract the customer by gathering the data of frequent flyers and offering them special perks/ discounts to increase their customer loyalty. 4. Various other airlines are thinking to provide comfort and extra services to their premium business passengers. 4.3 INDUSTRY PROFITABILITY 1. High forces are applied on other industrial competitors specially for new entrants as the gap in the industry is already covered by Ryanair and Easyjet after capturing low traffic airports. 2. By easily building a good infrastructure by Ryanair is made difficult for other competitors in industry to setup a new heavy budgeted cost to compete. 4.4 STRATEGIC GROUP ANALYSIS STRATEGIC GROUP Strategic group is the group of firms in an industry following the same or similar strategy along the strategic dimensions. (Page No. 129 Porter 1980) 1. In the light of all points discussed above, it is quite clarified that other strategic groups such as Easy Jet and Flybe are using nearly same kind of techniques to attract market share towards their company. 2. On the other hand, latest merger between British Airways and Iberia will be a new intimation for Ryanair in U.K as they will introduce low packages for American division where Iberia is already effectively working so that is the barrier for Ryanair to grow its market share in American region. 3. Cheap flights already offered by Lufthansa to get the good competition with Ryanair. 4.5 RESOURCED-BASED OF RYANAIR The resource based view does not focus so much on the actual labour and capital deployed by the company, but rather on the way in which these resources are utilised. (Strategic Planning, Prof. Alex Scott 2008) Resources are tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies. Capabilities are the skills a firm uses to bring its resources to bear. The capabilities of the firm are: * Lowest airfare rates * Simple processes (no frills) * Large brand awareness * Clear offer (focuses on particular market segment) * Innovative strategies on cost cutting * Quick turnaround time The resource-based approach uses various terms for different types of resources. Resources include physical resources, human resources, financial resources and intellectual resources. Competences arise from the continual deployment and integration of resources over time and across activities. Core competences are necessary for successful performance. Distinctive capabilities are competences superior to competitors. Taken together these can be regarded as the companys strategic capabilities. 4.6 ANALYSIS OF CORE COMPETENCIES Threshold Capabilities Resources Competencies Threshold Resources Threshold Competences Tangible Ø Fleer Commonality Ø Quantitative Carrier Services Ø Keep maintaining Low Cost Ø Online Reservation Resources Ø Load Competence Intangible Ø Experienced/ Specialised Management Ø Customer Service Capabilities for Competitive Analysis Unique Resources Core Competences Tangible Ø Flight Frequency Ø Cargo Service Quality Ø Objective to Keep Low customer Fare Ø Provide Good Service of Online Booking/ No Luggage Booking Ø Low Fare Air Carrier in European Industry Intangible Ø Michael OLeary Ø In Flight Customer Care 4.7 USE OF PORTERS VALUE CHAIN MODEL BY RYANAIR RYAN1 4.8 OPPORTUNITIES: Europes bloodbath (again) 4.8.1 RECESSIONARY CONDITIONS SUIT TRUE LCCS BEST The synchronised global economic recession has handed Ryanair and similar carriers near-perfect operating conditions. As Ryanair explains, this recession has encouraged passengers to become much more price sensitive which is why they are switching to Ryanairs low fares and unbeatable customer service over all other competitors. The carriers near term outlook is bloody brilliant, according to Mr OLeary, who has warned, were determined there will be no green shoots of recovery for any of our competitors. In the coming Winter, there will be a bloodbath and we will be causing that bloodbath. The carrier expects a 15-20% reduction in average fares this year to around â‚ ¬32 per passenger. Ryanair is banking on several of its smaller rivals being unable to withstand falls of this magnitude over a sustained period. The resulting rationalisation of capacity would lead to a stabilisation of yields after the bloodbath or so the theory goes. Regardless, Ryanair is in a position to profit handsomely over the next 12 months. Ryanairs CFO, Howard Millar, summed it up; were the only airline in Europe predicting a profit for next year at this point in time. The airline forecasts a profit after tax of between â‚ ¬200 million to â‚ ¬300 million for the year ending 31-Mar-2010. 4.8.2 COLLAPSING AIRCRAFT ORDER BOOKS: Ryanair is also on the offensive for a cheap aircraft deal to cover its requirement for 200-300 aircraft between 2013 and 2016. Talks with Boeing have reportedly been scheduled for late Summer. With its negative net order book this year and a customer that is arguably too big to lose, Boeing may be more willing to deal than Airbus. The US dollar is certainly heading in the right direction for Ryanair at present, with a substantial delivery log. But both manufacturers know Ryanair needs more aircraft to keep its model working next decade and will not be too eager to discount. Contrary to OLearys charge that the aircraft order backlogs of Airbus and Boeing are collapsing, although there has been some churn in orders, the manufacturers still hold the upper hand. 12-18 months from now, it might be a different story. 4.9 THREATS: Distract and conquer 4.9.1 AER LINGUS HOBBLED, LUFTHANSA NEXT? Many analysts view Ryanairs pursuit of Aer Lingus as misguided by delusions of grandeur. It has certainly cost Ryanair dear, with another EUR222.5 million writedown of its investment booked in 2008/09. But Ryanairs total outlay for Aer Lingus shares will be a small price to pay for neutralising what was a well-oiled machine just a few years ago. Thanks to Ryanairs effective interference, Aer Lingus is now leaderless and adrift, discounting aggressively to raise cash to stay in the game. It may not survive the Winter independently. Some sort of rescue possibly involving Ryanair would result in a rationalisation of capacity and a restoration of yields in the LCCs core UK-Ireland markets. That too would help Ryanair, although the carrier would benefit more from simply growing its market even further. The airline posted a net loss of EUR169.2 million for the 12 months ended 31-Mar-2009, compared with a EUR390.7 million net profit a year earlier. Ryanair said it fell into the red chiefly because of a EUR222.5 million accounting write-down on the value of its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus and higher jet fuel costs. Its pre-exceptionals operating profit was down 74% to EUR144.2 million, producing an operating margin of just under 5% well down on previous form. Ryanair operating profit margin FY06 to FY09 Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Ryanair The Master of Distraction, OLeary, has now turned his attention to Lufthansa. The German carrier is unlikely to be flattered that Ryanair has identified it as its next biggest threat, but would do well to maintain focused on the delicate task of empire building. If Lufthansa can effectively integrate Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and bmi (plus one or two others), the group will pose a major threat to Ryanairs dominance, particularly as European economic conditions improve. But Ryanairs organic growth is arguably a better bet. 4.9.2 FUEL THREAT NEUTRALISED Surging world oil prices could hamper efforts by many airlines to stem losses this year. After a hedging misstep last year (which contributed to a 59% surge in fuel costs to EUR1.3 billion), Ryanair looks to have got it right, hedging 90% of its fuel requirements for the first three quarters of the current financial year (to 31-Dec-2009) at USD62 per barrel (although there was no word about currency hedging in the report). If oil prices remain at current levels, Ryanair expects its full-year fuel bill will be EUR450 million lower than last year. This factor alone makes its current earnings guidance appear conservative. Over the longer term, Ryanair faces a massive conundrum regarding fuel costs. Unlike McDonalds, Aldi and Ikea, Ryanair is unable to control its fundamental cost line. It may have missed the chance to lock-in fuel prices at low levels (like Southwest did at the start of this decade) for the next few years. The airline faces a medium to long-term margin squeeze as fuel costs rise on a scale it cannot cover with ancillary revenues. http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2009/06/03/ryanair-swot-analysis-addicted-to-growth-a-great-model-for-bad-times/page1 5. POSITIONING DEFINITION Positioning is the act of designing the companys offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm. (Marketing Management, Philip Kotler Kevin Lane Keller 2006) RYAN-2 Ryanair has the purest form of low cost airline in Europe. Ryanair boasts many No.1s: †¢ No.1 for passenger traffic- over 23m for 2004 overtaking Easyjet. †¢ No.1 for passenger growth- 50% + this year. †¢ No.1 for European routes (149) and bases (11). †¢ No.1 for customer service delivery- punctuality, flight completion and fewest lost baggage. 6. PORTERS GENERIC STRATEGY So as we can see from the above representation Ryanair is the most radical low cost airline, it * Differs from the closest competitor on the graph (i.e. Easyjet) because it uses secondary airports * To lower its cost base whereas Easyjet does not. Virgin Express is nearly stuck in the middle; it * Still offers seat allocations†¦ Aer Lingus is an interesting case as it has been gradually getting * Closer to the low cost model on its short haul flights. Ryanair comes out as the purest low cost carrier. * Also in appendix is a comparison of Ryanair against other LCC and traditional carriers based on * Some key operational measures. (Revenue, employee/passenger, revenue/employee†¦). 7. CRITICAL KEY SUCCESS FACTORS †¢ low ticket prices †¢ frequent departures †¢ possibility of advanced reservations (online reservation and luggage bookings) †¢ reliable baggage handling COST REDUCTION STRATEGY †¢ fleet commonality †¢ contracting out services †¢ airport charges and route policies †¢ managed staff costs †¢ productivity and managed marketing costs 7.1 FLEET COMMONALITY †¢ Only one kind of plane (Boeing Planes) †¢ Limits the costs for: Ø Staff training Ø Maintenance services and facility of obtaining spares Ø Facility in scheduling aircraft and crew assignment 7.2 CONTRACTING OUT SERVICES †¢ ancillary revenue 16% of profit (revenue from non-ticket ources) Ø deals with Hertz car rental hotels Ø ticketing handling (phone cards bus tickets) Ø aircraft handling 7.3 AIRPORT CHARGES AND ROUTE POLICIES †¢ no use of travel agents no agency commissions (saves 15% on agency fees) †¢ direct marketing techniques to recruit and retain customers (Effective use of internet sources) †¢ use of secondary and regional airports encourages: Ø no traffic jams Ø fees incomparably lower 7.4 MANAGED STAFF COSTS †¢ modest salary performance related pay structure helps to increases productivity †¢ pilots recruited when being pilot cadets so that will help and encourage them to: Ø work hard Ø take early promotion Ø move on after 10 years to further their careers Ø cabin crew pay for their uniforms to be cleaned that tends to: Ø invest in their own training Ø responsible for passenger safety and ancillary revenues on board 7.5 PRODUCTIVITY AND MANAGED MARKETING COSTS †¢ spend as little as possible †¢ national and regional Irish and UK newspaper, on radio on television †¢ no advertising agency †¢ OLeary himself overseas promotion †¢ simple adverts (No hidden charges onn time of booking) 8. COMPETETIVE ADVANTAGES †¢ one class travel †¢ ticketless boarding †¢ flying to secondary airports †¢ point-to-point flying †¢ in-house marketing †¢ no frills †¢ reduced turnaround times †¢ no refund policy †¢ corporate partnerships (WITH SUPPLIERS) †¢ no cargo service †¢ bargaining power †¢ new aircrafts †¢ owns own fleet †¢ operations denominated in euro †¢ hedge fuel risk †¢ highly successful ancillary service offering †¢ outsourcing of services at international airports †¢ advertising on airplanes †¢ uniform fleet †¢ high productivity †¢ general cost reductions †¢ eliminating seatback pockets †¢ no blankets or pillows †¢ airsickness bags distributed on request †¢ charges larger penalties for overweight luggage 9. BUILDING BLOCKS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE  · Hills Jones 2007 According to Hills Jones â€Å"Building the internal capabilities that deliver competitive advantage involves and integrated approach all areas of the organisation. These key capabilities involves in context of Ryanair are: 9.1 SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY (HIGH) As the competitive advantage of Ryanair reflects that the marketing strategy in respect of efficiency is very good (i-e Maximum number of flights to maximum destinations in minimum time interval). 9.2 SUPERIOR QUALITY (LOW) The policy of No Frills reflects the quality of customer services as ryanair promise to offer cheap flights but no extras on the top. 9.3 SUPERIOR INNOVATION (LOW) Ryanair is not that much innovative towards customer attraction in respect of giving them good attractive holiday packages, hotel stay or different classes of travelling (i-e Business class). 9.4 SUPERIOR CUSTOMER RESPONSIVENESS (HIGH) Customer responsiveness of ryanair is always high according to current market recession, as they offer cheapest flights to customer and this is the main key towards customer retention. 10. SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Ryan Air continues acceleration towards the low cost airline in Europe is manages to maintain its leadership in cost reduction despite the presence of other low cost airlines. The successfulness of competitive advantage of the company include its ability to lower down costs to compete with low fares offered by other competitive carriers while at the same time remains profitable. This is done through: 10.1 FLEET COMMONALITY The airlines fleet is consist of Boeing 737, the most common aircraft being used by most of the carriers at present. Keep using the same aircrafts in the fleet made easy for ryanair to get spares and maintenance services easily. 10.2 CONTRACTING OUT OF SERVICES Other than Dublin Airport where the firm maintains its staff and services, Ryan Air outsources its contracts of aircraft handling, ticketing, baggage handling and other functions to third parties, so it makes easy for ryanair to get cheap competitive rates and make the long term contracts on the said rates. Third party contracts also limit Ryan Airs direct exposure to staff retention responsibilities and potential disputes. 10.3 AIRPORT CHARGES AND ROUTE POLICY Airport charges include landing fees, passenger loading fees, aircraft parking fees and noise surcharges. To make reduction in these particular charges ryanair avoids to use main congested airports and chooses secondary and regional airport destinations which works as effective competitive advantage to increase passengers output. 10.4 STAFF COSTS AND PRODUCTIVITY In order to control employee compensation costs, the firm implements a performance related pay structure. Although the company provides lower labor costs, the employees can earn additional pay or remuneration base on their performance. 10.5 MARKETING COST To reduce marketing costs, ryanair tries to avoid the services of travel agents. If it is necessary to get the travel agent services then it will be getting at lowest possible commission. Main advertisement tools of ryanair are newspapers, radio, television and its company website. 11. FUTURE STRATEGY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 11.1 MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Most important corporate level strategy in current economical condition of the world is to use mergers and acquisitions policy if necessary. As ryanair continues growth will help the company to think about to exquisite other companies such as Buzz, in order to improve its capabilities and acquire more competitive advantage. 11.2 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The human resources of the company are not seen as a potential source of competitive advantage. The company do not seem to value its people. The belief is getting stronger that companys human resources strategy is the most important source of competitive advantage. Companys staff retention policy is the main objective of sustainable competitive advantage. In a fast-changing environment where technological innovations and other strategies can be copied, it is the human resources that bring a sustainable competitive advantage. Ryan Air, in its commitment to low-cost airfare have sacrificed its processes and services, but in the future ryanair will have to think to adopt some effective human resource strategies to make their staff work for them in the long run. REFERENCES 1. http://university-essays.tripod.com/porters_5_forces_analysis.html 2. http://www.slideshare.net/The_E_group/Ryanair-Study-version-7 3. Strategic Planning, Prof. Alex Scott 2008 4. Marketing Management, Philip Kotler Kevin Lane Keller 2006 5. http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2009/06/03/ryanair-swot-analysis-addicted-to-growth-a-great-model-for-bad-times/page1 6. Clark, Andrew (2004), No How low can they go? The Guardian, June 5, 2004. 7. http://www.eubusiness.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=17503 8. http://www.grin.com/e-book/50631/the-ryan-air-model-success-and-impact-on-the-european-aviation-market 9. http://www.bitterwallet.com/ryanair-immune-from-ad-regulations-while-oft-dilly-dally/12473

Sophocles Antigone, Aeschylus Prometheus Bound, Jean Anouilhs Antigone and Ridley Scotts Blad :: Prometheus Bound Antigone Blade Runner

Sophocles' Antigone, Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, Jean Anouilh's Antigone and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner The representative population of a community is not comfortable when confronted by an individual who defies the laws that bind them. Whether or not the laws or the powers behind them are just, the populace must deal with any challenge to their authority. In some cases, the community, fearful of a powerful regime, will side with that power and avoid the risks associated with rebellion. Others find the tyranny too unjust to stand idly by and, risking their lives, join with other defiant individuals against it. The group of characters named as Chorus in both Sophocles' Antigone and Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound witness the rebellion of the titular characters against their respective authorities. In both plays, the Choruses (heretofore distinguished as Chorus A for Antigone and Chorus P for Prometheus Bound) recognize the ruling powers as both dangerous and tyrannical and are sympathetic to the plights of Antigone and Prometheus. However, the similarities between the two groups end at this point. While the actions of Chorus A are understandable given that their maturity has made them keenly aware of their own mortality, they appear mundane and self-serving in comparison to the noble selflessness of the youthful Chorus P. Chorus A are introduced as "the old citizens of Thebes" (p65). The effect of age upon their demeanor is immediately evident in their description of the defeat of Polynices and his armies. The elders are certainly triumphant, calling out: "Glory! ...great beam of the sun, brightest of all that ever rose against the seven gates of Thebes, you burn through the night at last!" (117-19). In these lines there is also a shade of relief. Born of freedom from the fear of their enemy's ...vast maw gaping closing down around our seven gates, his spears thirsting for the kill..." (132-34). These men are not the brave Theban warriors who fought with Eteocles. They are the elder citizens who cowered through the night of war hoping for, and receiving, "Victory! Glorious in the morning..." (164). They are cautious enough to stay out of the physical battle and they display the same self-interest when involved in the coming political confrontation between Antigone and Creon.

Anyone lived in a pretty how town :: Literary Analysis, E.E. Cummings

â€Å"Anyone lived in a pretty how town,† by E.E. Cummings, is a poem that alludes to the circle of life and how birth and death are a natural part of this cycle. This meaning is conveyed by a complex metaphor; broken down, this metaphor slides away to reveal the true social commentary behind it. This poem is an allegory; the speaker uses pronouns with unclear antecedents to mask the true meaning and add poetic flair to the simple belief he or she presents. The first poetic device the speaker uses to convey his or her meaning in this poem is the unorthodox grammar and sentence structure. The poem starts with the lines â€Å"anyone lived in a pretty how town / (with up so floating many bells down)† (1 – 2). In this case, this improper grammar reinforces the point that is the story of â€Å"anyone† (1). As such, the â€Å"how town† (1) represents the fact that the name of the town does not need to be specified, as this happens to everyone in every town. The speaker therefore alludes that the events of this poem are natural and they happen to anyone anywhere. E.E. Cummings deliberately uses â€Å"anyone† (1) and â€Å"no one† (12) as pronouns with ambiguous antecedents to generalize the poem’s meaning to society and all people in it. In this way, the speaker uses these thoughts as social commentary. The speaker also manipulates time to bring out his or her message. Lines 3, 8, 11, 21, 34, and 36 all contain some order of either â€Å"spring summer autumn winter† (3), as in lines 11 and 34, or â€Å"sun moon stars rain† (8), as in lines 11, 21, and 36. As the order of these seasons changes, it indicates the passage of time. This manipulation of time draws attention away from these lines and towards the lines with deeper meaning hidden within. However, there is another form of time: the progression of life. The speaker comments on the growth of children in terms of their maturity levels and how as they get older, children tend to forget their childish whims and fancies and move on. He or she says that they â€Å"guessed (but only a few / and down they forgot as up they grew† (9-10). He or she then goes on to say that â€Å"no one loved [anyone] more by more† (12), hinting at a relationship in development, foreshadowing a possible marriage.

Racial Formation in the United States Essay

Based on Omi and Winants discussion, we can say that racial formation is an ever changing process in which an individual or a group of people are classified as to what is their social status and classification in the society with reference to the present societal, economic, and political condition. A process that we might probably say since racial formation is shaped and molded with reference to the group’s or individual’s historical background and the current view of the people in general in the current society. As to race, we can identify it as a classification of an individual into a group in which he or she has an appalling similarity; its most common basis is an individual’s physical appearance if not by classifying its country of origin. Racial project and Racist project otherwise are two dealings of which an individual or a group of people in a race are either subjected into racial privileges or discrimination. It is actually quite confusing but the fact remains that there are actions that are imposed in accordance to race of which only certain individuals or groups are given or afflicted, both of which having a negative and positive outcomes individuals and to society. Based on Omi and Winants discussion and examples of racial and racist projects. Are Ethic/ race-based California state university campus organizations Racial or racist projects? If we were to take into account Omi and Winants discussion, we can say that such organizations can be both racial and racist projects. In a way such campus organizations both functions as a protector and, if not intentionally, exploiter of individuals and groups coming from different races. They both promote the welfare of their own race and neglect other existing kinds. So depending on the actions and visions they hold on to and their current racial social status, (being on the advantage or disadvantaged side) it is then we can identify if they are racial or racist projects. Take for example the African Students Organization as cited in the Clubs and Organizations Directory (http://www. csun. edu/getinvolved/clublisting/directory. php, 2008): African Students Organization Seeks to mobilize and foster increased cooperation and coordination among broad coalition of students, international organizations, and individual faculty and staff members committed to the progress of empowerment of Africa and peoples of African ancestry With their initial mission and vision we can actually say that they are a racial project of which they promote and reach out to their fellow African academic colleagues. We can further say it I, because in the current political and social status, they are the ones on the disadvantage side. Hence, those of which has the intention of racial discrimination and prejudice are those we can call as racist projects. REFERENCES: Omi, M. and Winant,H. (NY: Routledge, 1986/1989). Racial Formation in the United states from the 1960s to the 1990s. Retrieve September 12, 2008 from http://aad. english. ucsb. edu/docs/Omi-Winant. html. CSUN-Division of Student Affairs. Clubs and Organizations Directory. Retrieved September 12, 2008 from http://www. csun. edu/getinvolved/clublisting/directory. php.

Personal experience

The light shone through the curtains emitting a soft peaceful glow from the designs on its fabric, with my head aching and my eyes barely open I peered through a carving on the curtain and squinted my eyes to see if the weather had changed from its usual continuous downpour, my expectations were drowned and revived for it was dry but frost had added it's touch to the scenery. Following the same routine each week, I threw on some old but very warm clothes and found my way carelessly downstairs, there was a reason for me to be happy today, but I was not fully awake yet to remember why. I passed through the kitchen avoiding the cupboard that I always seemed to knock into in the morning, sunlight shone through the window reflecting the brilliance of the kitchens woodwork, glasses lay shimmering in the light on the drying board beside the sink, I filled up the kettle to make myself a cup of coffee and watched as the steam implanted marks on the beige wallpaper. Looking through the patio while drinking my coffee I had a more broad view of today's weather, Frost had embedded itself on all solid objects in view. Trees, plants even the gravel of the driveway shone in brilliance with this white sheet of frozen dew. As I opened the patio door and hastily put on my slippers a soft, cool breeze blew across my body sending a shiver down my spine and causing the hairs on my arms to stand. I inhaled the cool, crisp air which was waking me better than my coffee, I walked alongside the garden admiring the view and took special interest in the way that the grass sparkled as I swept past which reminded me of jewellery such as diamonds or emeralds. As I went back inside I put down my cold mug of coffee and headed upstairs where I found a bundle of towels, half-wet, half-dry lying on the ground, this was the place they were thrown the last time they were used. Twenty minutes later after a warm refreshing shower I realised I was ready for breakfast, by this time I had realised that the reason for me to be happy today was due to the fact that I did not have to go into work and that later on two friends of mine Stephen and Scott were to come to my house. I threw myself on the couch and relaxed as the enormous cushions sank beneath my weight, I lay there reviewing the week's happenings in my mind and wondering what I should do today, time passed as I lay in this trance and was deeply frightened when I was aroused by the sound of knocking on the front door. I sat upright and headed for the door, on the way grabbing my wallet, keys and mini-disc player. I opened the door which gave a loud creak and slammed it shut with force while trying to fit my keys into the keyhole, I glanced briefly at Stephen and Scott, while saying â€Å"hi† I stroked the cat as I walked past the box from which it was emerging stretching it's legs, no doubtedly I had woken it up while closing the door. After we had conspired the decision was made that we would go to Curry's first as I needed a new pair of headphones for my mini-disc player. After a careful selection process for a pair that were of a good quality standard and cheap in price we headed outside to the car park so I could attach the newly bought product. After I had discarded of the plastic case in which the headphones were contained, I inserted the headphones into the player and wrapped the wire around the player itself, I put it in Scott's bag, as I did this however, I noticed that coming down the hill was a group of six unruly looking ruffians aged from around 17 to 19. I made it clear to Steve and Scott that we should go as the youths were pointing in our direction, as we were about to make off, to our misfortune, a jet black jeep with only two seats which were occupied by two passengers pulled by us. It held two women who were looking for directions, by now the gang who we had spotted had walked past us which came as a great relief to me. After we had helped the two women and they had figured out where their destination was they departed, and we ourselves thought we ought to do the same. With a quick turn I noticed that through the buildings see-through shutters that we were not alone, it turned out that the gang had waited there and started to follow us as we left. Steve and Scott started to quicken their pace quite fast leaving me behind them as they broke into a run and were followed by five shouting â€Å"there he is, get him† they were a good distance away from me so I thought of going back to curry's for help when suddenly I felt a great weight pound on the back of my neck, it struck shock into me as it had surprised me more than anything. One of the gang had stayed behind and strayed a little to clumsy behind me since I was the biggest of the three, unlike him, he was a tall, dark, rough looking character wearing what looked like a ‘hand me down' baseball cap and protruding from the cap was his thick black greasy hair which was curled from the tips upward. His muscular build summed up his attitude so I thought it best to run, and I did, but it wasn't long before I was stopped again. The greasy haired thug sprinted after me in a fit of rage and tripped me up, those few seconds of falling before impact with the ground made me think of the horror which may yet come to be. With a quick glance after a hard collision with the ground I noticed three other thugs were surrounding me, they had given up on the chase for Stephen and Scott and thought that it would be fun to take a kick at me, and they did they kicked me over and over again. They booted me in the back of the head laughing like schoolchildren with a new toy, I was surrounded with no way out, they had formed a circle where each person was able to get a kick in, I waved my arms in the air hoping to block blows that came to my face, I squirmed around trying frantically to escape this vicious circle of attacks while continually receiving kicks in every part of my body. I tried to scramble to my feet, tried to get away but was stopped my another fierce kick to the stomach which had winded me, at this point I hadn't realized that it didn't actually hurt, sure my arms were drenched with blood and my legs weren't functioning properly but with each and every kick I only heard, not felt, like sound vibrations off a pair of speakers each kick was like ripple of sound of a dance beat, maybe the shock of all this had suppressed the pain, or the adrenaline in the heat of the moment. With the attacks coming yet still to the stomach and arms I screamed out as best as I could â€Å"why, why are you doing this, I've done nothing† yet from saying this must have induced a renewed attack from members of the group who were seeming to ease off, laughter was the only reply from which I heard. Even now clearly, I am haunted by the look, from which I was greeted by one of the group, his eyes were filled with malice, hatred, malevolence, but why? Who was he? I didn't know him, â€Å"what have I done†. I screamed as loud as I was fit to, with my voice quivering during the end of the outburst still I relentlessly waved my arm in the air noticing that what was once a blue piece of clothing had turned to dark red with rips all over, at this they scattered, they ran why? I picked myself off the ground, I collapsed under my own weight, I tried again and yet I failed at this attempt, I crawled, squirming my body left and right trying not to put pressure on my arms. I got to the nearest wall and propped myself up against it, I inspected my injuries and only now realizing the pain I was in, when I looked around I caught sight of Stephen and Scott, apparently they had stopped someone on the road for help and were coming towards me, they helped me into the car which they had stopped and surprisingly it turned out to be a friend of my fathers. As he drove me home the increasing pain seemed overwhelming, I drifted away into deep thought as I sank into the seats of the car. Weeks have passed and a formal complaint has been made about the thugs but I have yet to hear from the police, it had turned out that the thugs were after Stephen and Scott because of their religion, they both were protestant. The thugs themselves were catholic and lived in a local estate area which is notorious for crime and supposedly uncontrollable to the law, they had mistaken me for a protestant and I had received the full beating intended for all of us. As I look back on this experience now it makes me wonder what these youths have gone through in their lives to make them capable of committing such an act and thinking in the way they do on the differences in religion, I am continually haunted by that piercing look I received on the day, that look, the look I got was from something not human, it was something else. These people care nothing about what they have done to me and to support their reasons the only response was the fact that they thought I was of another religion, their bias is so thin, so pointless.