Management about BJ's House restaurant Essay

The board about BJ's House eatery - Essay Example What's more the eatery has exceptional courses that offer wide assortments of food items, for example, brushed chicken, barbecued pork, Texas-style breaded and fried steak, southern seared chicken, etc. The organization additionally gives different classes of refreshments incorporate a wide range of natural product juices, custom made lagers and imported lagers, tea milk and espresso. This article gives a basic examination of the administration procedures utilized in BJ’s cafés (BJ Restaurant Inc. 2006). The contemporary business condition is described by wild rivalry. This requires enterprises be continually cognizant their exhibition in the market. Thusly, most organizations attempt to investigate each system to guarantee that they remain in front of their rivals. Worker inspiration is one of the apparatuses that can be utilized by associations to propel their workforce to progress in the direction of authoritative objectives. Roused representatives are likewise ready to go additional mile to support the organization. All the BJ’s eateries have great and safe workplaces. The organization additionally has exacting principles that disallow any type of separation or work environment disturbances. This effects the feeling of security in representatives and gives them the significant serenity when at work (BJ’s Restaurants Inc. 1). What's more, the yearly report explains that the organization has a protection plan that spread workers’ remuneration and general risk p rograms (2014, 17). The organization holds the perspective that representatives are spurred on the off chance that they are given safe workplaces that is liberated from any type of mental unsettling influence. Subsequently, it has felt free to structure decides that takes out the equivalent from work environments. It likewise keeps up that furnishing the laborers with ideal conditions will produce ideal execution from them. Thus, the organization has a made a hierarchical culture wherein the administration and the workforce have a positive working relationship

Definition and Examples of Aspect in English Grammar

Definition and Examples of Aspect in English Grammar In English sentence structure, viewpoint is an action word structure (or class) that demonstrates time-related attributes, for example, the fruition, term, or redundancy of an activity. (Investigate with tense.) When utilized as a descriptive word, itsâ aspectual. The word originates from Latin, which means what [something] looks like The two essential perspectives in English are the ideal (here and there called perfective) and the dynamic (otherwise called the consistent structure). As delineated underneath, these two perspectives might be joined to shape the ideal dynamic. In English, angle is communicated by methods for particles, separate action words, and action word phrases. Models and Observations Impeccable AspectThe immaculate viewpoint depicts occasions happening in the past yet connected to a later time, for the most part the present. The ideal perspective is framed with has, have, or had the past participle. It happens in two forms:​ Immaculate Aspect, Present Tense:History has recollected the lords and warriors, since they pulverized; craftsmanship has recalled the individuals, since they created.(William Morris, The Water of the Wondrous Isles, 1897)​ Flawless Aspect, Past Tense:At fifteen life had shown me obviously that give up, in its place, was as good as obstruction, particularly on the off chance that one had no way out. (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969) Dynamic AspectThe dynamic angle as a rule depicts an occasion that happens during a constrained timespan. The dynamic angle is comprised of a type of be the - ing type of the fundamental verb.​ Dynamic Aspect, Present Tense:Shes faithful and is attempting to wear her ragged flippy hair in cornrows.(Carolyn Ferrell, Proper Library, 1994) Dynamic Aspect, Past Tense:I was perusing the word reference. I thought it was a sonnet about everything. (Steven Wright) The Difference Between Tense and AspectTraditionally . . . the two perspectives [perfect and progressive] are treated as a component of the strained framework in English, and notice is made of tenses, for example, the current dynamic (for example We are pausing), the current impeccable dynamic (for example We have been pausing), and the past immaculate dynamic (for example We had been pausing), with the last two joining two angles. There is a qualification to be made, be that as it may, among tense and angle. Tense is worried about how time is encoded in the language structure of English, and is frequently founded on morphological structure (for example compose, composes, composed); perspective is worried about the unfurling of a circumstance, and in English involves sentence structure, utilizing the action word be to frame the dynamic, and the action word need to shape the ideal. Thus blends like those above are these days alluded to as developments (for example the dynamic developm ent, the current impeccable dynamic development). (Bas Aarts, Sylvia Chalker, and Edmund Weiner, Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar, second ed. Oxford University Press, 2014) present immaculate dynamic: God realizes to what extent Ive been doing it. Have I been working for all to hear? past flawless dynamic: He had been keeping it in a security store box at the Bank of America. For a considerable length of time she had been sitting tight for that specific corner area. Present Perfect Progressive and Past Perfect ProgressiveThe impeccable perspective regularly portrays occasions or states occurring during a previous time. The dynamic perspective portrays an occasion or situation in progress or proceeding. Great and dynamic viewpoint can be joined with either present or past tense...Verb expressions can be set apart for the two angles (great and dynamic) simultaneously: The ideal dynamic perspective is uncommon, happening as a rule in the past tense in fiction. It consolidates the significance of the ideal and the dynamic, alluding to a past circumstance or movement that was in progress for a while. (Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech, Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman, 2002)

Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business

Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school, but the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Each Wednesday, we profile a standout professor as identified by students. Today, we focus on  Saras D. Sarasvathy  from the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business. Saras D. Sarasvathy  is the Isidore Horween Research Associate Professor of Business Administration at UVA Darden, and she also teaches doctoral-level courses in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Sarasvathy wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book  Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise  (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial board of the  Journal of Business Venturing, she acts as an advisor to education programs on entrepreneurship in Asia and Europe. In 2015, UVA awarded Sarasvathy the Mead-Colley Honored Faculty Award for her active engagement with students. In 2007,  Fortune Small Business  magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship. Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been an associate professor at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alumnus described her to mbaMission as “very encouraging, supportive. She allows people to share ideas rather than looking for the right answer.” Another told us that he found himself in her “Starting New Ventures” class by mistake; he had lingered too long in the classroom after his previous class had ended and was still there when Sarasvathy’s class began. He was so impressed by her teaching that he added her course to his schedule, even though he was already overloaded. He found even at that first lesson that she “challenged conventional beliefs,” and he was “impressed at her insights and the way that she articulated basic assumptions to bring out the less obvious, deeper levels.” For some interesting perspectives on entrepreneurship and business, see Sarasvathy’s presentations on BigThink at  http://bigthink.com/sarassarasvathy. For more information about UVA Darden and 15 other top-ranked business schools, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Professor Profiles University of Virginia (Darden) Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on  Saras D. Sarasvathy  from the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business. Saras D. Sarasvathy  is the Paul M. Hammaker Professor of Business Administration at UVA Darden, and she also teaches doctoral-level courses at schools in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Sarasvathy wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book  Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise  (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of various management journals, she writes a monthly column for the business newspaper, the  Economic Times. In 2015, UVA awarded Sarasvathy the Mead-Colley Honored Faculty Award for her active engagement with students. In 2007,  Fortune Small Business  magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship. Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been teaching at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alumnus described her to mbaMission as “very encouraging, supportive. She allows people to share ideas rather than looking for the right answer.” Another told us that he found himself in her “Starting New Ventures” class by mistake; he had lingered too long in the classroom after his previous class had ended and was still there when Sarasvathy’s class began. He was so impressed by her teaching that he added her course to his schedule, even though he was already overloaded. He found even at that first lesson that she “challenged conventional beliefs,” and he was “impressed at her insights and the way that she articulated basic assumptions to bring out the less obvious, deeper levels.” For some interesting perspectives on entrepreneurship and business, see Sarasvathy’s presentations on BigThink at  http://bigthink.com/sarassarasvathy. For more information about UVA Darden and 15 other top-ranked business schools, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Professor Profiles University of Virginia (Darden) Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on  Saras D. Sarasvathy  from the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business. Saras D. Sarasvathy  is the Paul M. Hammaker Professor in Business Administration at UVA Darden, and she also teaches doctoral-level courses at schools in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Sarasvathy wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book  Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise  (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of various management journals, she writes a monthly column for the  Economic Times. In 2015, UVA awarded Sarasvathy the Mead-Colley Honored Faculty Award for her active engagement with students. In 2007,  Fortune Small Business magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship. Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been teaching at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alumnus described her to mbaMission as “very encouraging, supportive. She allows people to share ideas rather than looking for the right answer.” Another told us that he found himself in her “Starting New Ventures” class by mistake; he had lingered too long in the classroom after his previous class had ended and was still there when Sarasvathy’s class began. He was so impressed by her teaching that he added her course to his schedule, even though he was already overloaded. He found even at that first lesson that she “challenged conventional beliefs,” and he was “impressed at her insights and the way that she articulated basic assumptions to bring out the less obvious, deeper levels.” For some interesting perspectives on entrepreneurship and business, see Sarasvathy’s presentations on BigThink at  https://bigthink.com/community/sarassarasvathy. For more information about UVA Darden and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Professor Profiles University of Virginia (Darden) Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on  Saras D. Sarasvathy  from the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business. Saras D. Sarasvathy  is the Paul M. Hammaker Professor in Business Administration at UVA Darden, and she also teaches doctoral-level courses at schools in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Sarasvathy wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book  Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise  (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of various management journals, she writes a monthly column for the  Economic Times. In 2015, UVA awarded Sarasvathy the Mead-Colley Honored Faculty Award for her active engagement with students. In 2007,  Fortune Small Business  magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship. Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been teaching at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alumnus described her to mbaMission as “very encouraging, supportive. She allows people to share ideas rather than looking for the right answer.” Another told us that he found himself in her “Starting New Ventures” class by mistake; he had lingered too long in the classroom after his previous class had ended and was still there when Sarasvathy’s class began. He was so impressed by her teaching that he added her course to his schedule, even though he was already overloaded. He found even at that first lesson that she “challenged conventional beliefs,” and he was “impressed at her insights and the way that she articulated basic assumptions to bring out the less obvious, deeper levels.” For some interesting perspectives on entrepreneurship and business, see Sarasvathy’s presentations on BigThink at  https://bigthink.com/community/sarassarasvathy. For more information about UVA Darden and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out the free  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Professor Profiles University of Virginia (Darden) Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on  Saras D. Sarasvathy  from the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business. Saras D. Sarasvathy  is the Paul M. Hammaker Professor of Business Administration at UVA Darden, and she also teaches doctoral-level courses at schools in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Sarasvathy wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book  Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise  (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of various management journals, she writes a monthly column for the business newspaper, the  Economic Times. In 2015, UVA awarded Sarasvathy the Mead-Colley Honored Faculty Award for her active engagement with students. In 2007,  Fortune Small Business  magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship. Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been teaching at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alumnus described her to mbaMission as “very encouraging, supportive. She allows people to share ideas rather than looking for the right answer.” Another told us that he found himself in her “Starting New Ventures” class by mistake; he had lingered too long in the classroom after his previous class had ended and was still there when Sarasvathy’s class began. He was so impressed by her teaching that he added her course to his schedule, even though he was already overloaded. He found even at that first lesson that she “challenged conventional beliefs,” and he was “impressed at her insights and the way that she articulated basic assumptions to bring out the less obvious, deeper levels.” For some interesting perspectives on entrepreneurship and business, see Sarasvathy’s presentations on BigThink at  http://bigthink.com/sarassarasvathy. For more information about UVA Darden and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out the free  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Professor Profiles University of Virginia (Darden) Blog Archive Professor Profiles Saras D. Sarasvathy, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Each Wednesday, we profile a standout professor as identified by students. Today, we focus on  Saras D. Sarasvathy  from the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business. Saras D. Sarasvathy  is the Isidore Horween Research Professor of Business Administration at UVA Darden, and she also teaches doctoral-level courses at schools in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Sarasvathy wrote her dissertation at Carnegie Mellon on entrepreneurial expertise and has parlayed that into a specialization in the area of “effectuation,” which examines the creation and growth of new organizations and markets. Her book  Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise  (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) examines the way entrepreneurs think. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of various management journals, she writes a monthly column for the business newspaper, the Economic Times. In 2015, UVA awarded Sarasvathy the Mead-Colley Honored Faculty Award for her active engagement with students. In 2007,  Fortune Small Business  magazine named Sarasvathy one of 18 top professors in the field of entrepreneurship. Students we interviewed feel that Sarasvathy, who has been teaching at Darden since 2004, is one of the up-and-coming scholars of entrepreneurship in the world. One alumnus described her to mbaMission as “very encouraging, supportive. She allows people to share ideas rather than looking for the right answer.” Another told us that he found himself in her “Starting New Ventures” class by mistake; he had lingered too long in the classroom after his previous class had ended and was still there when Sarasvathy’s class began. He was so impressed by her teaching that he added her course to his schedule, even though he was already overloaded. He found even at that first lesson that she “challenged conventional beliefs,” and he was “impressed at her insights and the way that she articulated basic assumptions to bring out the less obvious, deeper levels.” For some interesting perspectives on entrepreneurship and business, see Sarasvathy’s presentations on BigThink at  http://bigthink.com/sarassarasvathy. For more information about UVA Darden and 15 other top-ranked business schools, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guides. Share ThisTweet Professor Profiles University of Virginia (Darden)

The Causes of the American Revolution Essay - 845 Words

Despite the Seven Years War, Britain still retained a full dominance over the American colonies. However, they now saw the colonies as fodder to feed the raging debts of Britain. The crowns desire for money to pay the debts was viewed by Britain as reasonable, while it fueled the fire known as revolution that was stirring up in the hearts of the colonists. This would create a new sense of American political identity and would eventually lead to the American Revolution. Eventually, Britain would soon come to regret marking the spirited colonists as inferior. There were ideas that would spark the flame of revolution much before the word revolution was even spoken of. Republicanism, an idea where the citizens gave up their private needs to†¦show more content†¦Other laws passed by Parliament that enraged the colonists included the Sugar Act, which was the first law to raise tax revenue in the colonies for the crown, as well as the Quartering act, which required colonists to hou se and feed British soldiers if requested. The most detestable law of all, however, was the Stamp Act, which placed a tax on stamps; one of the most commonly bought and used items in the colonies. That would essentially be the final straw. In reaction to all these newly implemented taxes, the colonists raised the issue of taxation without representation. That would be the major slogan that went against the British Parliament. The colonists felt they shouldnt be taxed if there are no representatives in Parliament to stand up for them. In the eyes of most colonists, the Parliament and the King were greedy and corrupt who sought to take advantage of the colonies. The hate that was incited upon the British would only pile up on the list of things that caused the revolution. The problem steadily became a large-scale political issue that rose from a small discussion within the streets to being publicized in newspapers and pamphlets such as Thomas Paines Common Sense. Even though the Stamp Act was repealed by the Parliament, it had already created great protest and conscious thought among the colonists. Revolution was inevitable as the groups rhetoric turned to violence, creating the incendiary atmosphere that would start the war.Show MoreRelatedThe Revolution : The Cause Of The American Revolution1898 Words   |  8 Pages The American Revolution was the turning point for the colonies that made up the United States today. It was the war that freed the colonists from British control. But what actually caused the American Revolution? Well, there’s no simple answer to that question. In fact, most of the causes acted as if they were dominoes. These events can be categorized in four periods of time or setting. These groups are, Salutary neglect, Mercantilism, Boston, and Unity of protests. Salutary neglect was the ideaRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution1202 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout history many revolutions took place, ranging from the unremarkable to a truly memorable, as the French revolution, the American Revolution, and the Bolshevik Revolution, but American revolution took place in 1775-1783. The revolution was different from other revolution because of growing tensions between re sidents of Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government because American revolution was not like the others. This revolution was not like the others becauseRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution738 Words   |  3 Pagesas the American Revolution, or the Revolutionary War. The American Revolution was a war between the colonists of America and Great Britain and they were fighting over the independence of America from Britain. This war lasted until 1781, when the British surrendered to the Americans, As a result, America is a fully independent country and it has stayed that way since that day. There were many causes of the war, The Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, and Lexington and Concord. The first cause of theRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution913 Words   |  4 Pages While the american revolution was caused from taxes, it was also formed from the effects of a corrupt system of government. The effects of britains rule was a much bigger flame for the revolution then the taxes placed upon citizens. The american revolution was an event that will forever shape us as a country. It was a tough war filled with blood and brutal acts of violence, but it was also an awakening for the colonies that will later become the United States, it showed that while under a governmentRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution880 Words   |  4 Pages The American Revolution is the most important time in all of American history. This brought the birth of a new country and the treasured constitution. In the beginning, colonists were proud to be British. In the years to come, there were small occurrences that bothered the colonists and led to the Revolution. Other countries contributed to the start of a crueller British control. The French and Indian War caused King George III to introduce expensive taxes (Pavao). These taxes came about becauseRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution1335 Words   |  6 Pageswere multiple causes for the American Revolution, but the most important was the violation and deprivation of rights from the American People. The American people were faced with multiple acts and taxes that violated and took away their rights. Americans were continuously being taxed after the French and Indian War by acts like the sugar act, the stamp act, the Townshend acts,the tea act, and many more(Hedtke, et al., The Ame rican Saga). Despite all the taxes being placed on the Americans and the thingsRead MoreCauses of the American Revolution953 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Thou Mr. G./ Period 1 September 14, 2012 Causes of the American Revolution The American Revolution began in 1755 as an open conflict between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris had ended that war in 1783, giving the colonies their own independence. There are many factors contributing to the start of the Revolution, but the war began as the way The Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies felt they should be treated. For example, the FrenchRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution886 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Revolution began on April 19, 1775. It was the war between Great Britain and its colonies located in the New World. The colonists, as many historians put it, were like children rebelling against the motherland; however, they had many valid reasons for this revolt, including their desire for freedom and independence. My World History textbook says freedom was falsely promised when the colonists had settled (Krull 868). The more direct causes of this widely known rebellion include taxesRead MoreCaus es Of The American Revolution1344 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Revolution The causes of the American Revolution go back to the beginning of salutary neglect and the French and Indian War, as well as changes in the thinking of society. The effects of these events and other factors led to pressure within the colonies, ultimately resulting in rebellion. There were five factors to the nature of the American Revolution: The Environment, The Enlightenment, Self-Government, Economic Independence and Colonial Unity. The first factor that led to the AmericanRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution813 Words   |  4 PagesCauses Before the American Revolution, any imports from England from us had to come in ships owned by the British. Also, we could only sell tobacco and sugar to England. The British took French territory in Canada, east of the Mississippi River, and Spanish Florida which led to the American Revolution. Due to the war, Britain went in debt so, the British government placed taxes on goods so they could make more money. But that’s not all that led to the American Revolution, both the us and the French

Lidl Grocery Store Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2531 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Case study Tags: Future Essay Did you like this example? The UK grocery market is a highly competitive and saturated market with thousands of competitors. Demand is distinct for being price elastic such is the nature of the market. This makes it notoriously difficult to make any advances on market share (Burt and Sparks, 2003). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Lidl Grocery Store Example For Free" essay for you Create order Since entering this market in 1994, Lidl have become deeply entrenched with over 600 stores at its disposal which expresses the phenomenal success that they have achieved (Lidl 2012). They are now a formidable competitor feared by the other major supermarkets. The big four supermarkets in the UK such as Tesco and Asda have now endured a decrease to their market share, as the discount supermarket Lidl has made gains (Butler, 2015). Brinded (2015) outlined that as of May 2015, Lidl had accomplished a record market share of 3.9% with an 8.8% increase in sales. Such displays of growth are very much owed to the marketing strategy implemented by Lidl. Fifield (1998, p.27) defines marketing strategy as the process by which the organisation translates its business objective and business strategy into market activity. He also emphasises the importance of executing plans quickly in response to various market changes. Lidl as will be explained has executed this definition to great success. This essay will analyse the marketing strategies devised by Lidl and will also propose suitable recommendations to enhance the marketing strategy to sustain financial performance and UK expansion, with a brief insight into the enormous challenges encountered by Lidl. Barriers to Entry With the price per majority of products being relatively small it is crucial that stores sell a high volume with great variety. Therefore a large and repeat buying consumer base is crucial for any long term success (Oliver, 1999). Such a rigid outline for success means that the barriers to entry are quite formidable. Stigler (1968, p.67) categorised barriers to entry as a cost of producing that must be borne by firms seeking to enter an industry but is not borne by firms already. Of course Lidl was and still is a massive supermarket in Germany from the 1980s and was recognised throughout other European countries but it was completely diverse to the stores in the UK which made Lidls introduction a risk. It doesnt seem cynical to suggest that there also exists a long established oligopoly whose economic dominance makes the market even more challenging to infiltrate (Blythman, 2008). BBC (2006) support this view by reporting in 2006 that Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons controlle d 74.4% of the market. This oligopoly means that there are higher barriers of entry, requiring significant capital to overcome. It has also fostered extreme levels of customer loyalty which is a complex obstacle in itself to overturn. Such dominance translates to quite high profit margins when compared to discount stores. Ferrell and Hartline (2014) identified capital, advertising, government regulations and adequate infrastructure as the primary barriers to entry in a market which is oligopolistic. Marketing Strategy incorporated by Lidl From their European operations Lidl had already amassed a substantial budget, giving it the economic strength to establish a corporate base in the UK market. However initially Lidl did not aim to match supermarkets such as Tesco for store size as they recognised that their brand simple wasnt reputable enough in the UK for such an aggressive strategy. They operated on a financial scale below that of the larger supermarkets which helped them to systematically build their operations from a small and solid foundation. Aaker and Mcloughlin (2010) distinguished four key principles needed to ensure a successful marketing strategy. These were strategic analysis, innovation, multiple businesses and sustainable advantage. Lidls marketing strategy was extremely competent at orchestrating these principles as interpreted below; Strategic Analysis- Lidls rise to prominence during the financial crisis was a massive example of how strategic analysis benefited their marketing strategy. Senior an d Swailes (2010) were adamant that for any successful marketing strategy the information needed to be accurate and timely. In specific they pinpointed environmental triggers of change which encompasses, political, economic, social, technological, legal and ecological factors. Lidl regarded the financial crisis as an opportunity and began to stock greater numbers of cheaper products. Most notably middle class consumers who before the crisis would not have shopped at a discount store were attracted by the cheaper prices of products. This stimulated an uplift in customers, leading to a massive increase in sales. It is evident that Lidls marketing strategy is identifiable with that of the evolutionary approach, whereby reacting to changing market conditions by launching initiatives has been a success (Fifield, 1998). Johnson and Scholes (2000) believed a SWOT analysis was an efficient method of enhancing any marketing strategy. While a SWOT analysis portrays the financial crisis as an o pportunity it would also highlight major weaknesses so that they can be confronted. Poor reputation and brand image would seem to be Lidls major weakness with Connolly (2008) exposing poor working conditions and minimum wage throughout the UK stores. This illustrates that there are areas which Lidls marketing strategy did not address. Innovation- Although simplistic, Lidl incorporated a basic standard of store interior where stock was commonly placed in bulk on pallets with minimal or no additional services such as a butchers which is a familiar service in most supermarkets. It is apparent that Lidl have relied heavily on the framework of the generic strategy of cost leadership. Porter (1985) presented this strategy as one where a competitive advantage is engineered by minimising costs and lowering prices. This has been cardinal to Lidl capturing market share, whilst producing considerable profits. This strategy has also been successful for huge multinational companies such as Ry anair who can offer greatly reduced prices by maintaining a low standard of service. As can be seen with Porters (1985) generic strategies matrix, Lidls marketing strategy achieved optimum success as they had a broad market scope to aim at. Figure 1. Porters Generic Strategies Matrix (Porter, 1985 p.12) Multiple Businesses- Lidl was already a major force in mainland Europe and therefore had massive capital to sustain large scale expansion into other countries. The marketing resources were present and availed of in an ambitious marketing strategy where Lidl would operate below the level of the larger supermarkets, aspiring to build themselves up eventually to that pedigree. Hooley et al (2008, p.289) commentated that marketing assets and capabilities have potential for exploitation. Lidls marketing strategy utilised the assets of the company to allow them to continuously grow without any cash flow shortages. Sustainable Advantage- Higher quality consumables that can matc h the quality of household brands primarily stocked in the major supermarkets has attracted a larger range of consumers. Moreover it has provided an effective competitive advantage which diversifies Lidl. Small, unknown brands mean that Lidl can comparatively sell at a much lower price than what is demanded from market leading brands. Durrani (2015) highlighted that in 2012 alone Lidl had spent ÂÂ £21 million on advertising activity, another key factor in the effectiveness of their strategy. In contrast to Porters theory of cost leadership, it must be appreciated that this strategy in isolation does not sell the product. McCarthy (1960) constructed the marketing mix which gives a much more definitive portrayal of how to produce sales. From the above analysis it is clear that Lidls marketing mix which as McCarthy (1960) outlines involves product, pricing, place and promotion worked with emphatic success. Recommendations for Future Interestingly it has been contested that much of Lidls success has been owed to the financial crisis of 2008. While this does demonstrate Lidls competency at processing information and intelligent decision making, they now must be proactive and plan for the future. It is likely that they will again exist in a strong economy where consumers will be more inclined to spend on luxury brands and in stores such as Marks and Spencers. With the grocery market being so dynamic and volatile it is crucial that Lidl engage in further market research to identify exactly what consumers want so that the company can be improved to accommodate for these demands. If done so correctly customer loyalty will be retained. Oliver (1999, p.33) has discovered that the net present value increase in profits that results from a 5% increase in customer retention varies between 25% and 95% in 14 different countries. With regards to this information it would be advisable for Lidl to engage in loyalty schemes whe re repeat buyers are rewarded with discount and exclusive offers. However it is a complex task to estimate factors such as consumer spending as explained by Dekimpe et al (2010, p.29) who states that predicting aggregate consumer spending is vitally important to marketing planning, yet traditional economic theory holds that predicting changes in aggregate consumer spending is not possible. This demonstrates how challenging it is to make accurate assumptions. As proposed by Chisnall (1995) it would be recommendable that Lidl should execute multiple sourcing on a wider scale whereby a larger variety of suppliers are contracted. He explained that this would secure expansion as it would limit the consequences of a main supplier defaulting. Brand repositioning is the possibly the most important recommendation to ensure Lidl continue making substantial market gains. Burt (2000) noted that although discount stores can potentially make significant gains it is essential that for long term success their brand image must be improved. It was revealed by igd (2015) that the UK market on March 31st was worth ÂÂ £177.5 billion, an increase of 1.7% from the previous year. An indication that consumers may begin to expect greater quality, which could leave Lidl surplus to requirements. To reinforce the need to improve the brand image Ross Millar, the managing director of Lidl Scotland (Lidl 2012) revealed that 63% of customers interviewed agreed that if they had more money they would buy better quality food. It is clear that Lidl will have to improve the quality of produce that they source. Further large investment is required to modernise store interiors with additional services needed to be established. This will not only increase revenue due to diversification but as mentioned above the brand image will be vastly improved. Lidl will be transformed from the perception of being solely a discount retailer to being a one stop shop where consumers can purchase all of the groceries that they plan on purchasing. Furthermore a popular feature of larger supermarkets is online shopping whereby by customers can make online orders for home delivery. It has been a huge success for Tesco which has also boosted its brand image. For Lidl to continue to compete with the larger supermarkets in the future and to prosper, they too must develop an online shopping service. Such is the age we now live in where spending is heavily dictated by technology it would be naÃÆ'Â ¯ve of Lidl to ignore such an opportunity (Burt and Sparks, 2003). It also promotes brand awareness. Blackman (1975) suggested that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is another factor which many large multinational companies are having to introduce as it ranks highly in priorities demanded by stakeholders in the 21st century. Lidl have already began to source fair trade products, but they must do a lot more as consumers now expect fresh produce and a range of ethical products. Drucker (1984) was of the view that CSR will influence consumer behaviour greatly as it is increasingly in the interest of society. However Boulstridge and Carrigan (2000) maintained that price, quality, brand familiarity and value were still the key factors that controlled consumer spending. Conclusion Lidls marketing strategy has been as innovative as it has been opportunistic, which reflects the position it now finds itself. Ferrell and Hartline (2014, p.17) stated that marketing strategy is a plan for how the organisation will use its strengths and capabilities to match the needs and requirements of the market. It is apparent that Lidl have executed their marketing strategy to maximum effect, exploiting an opportunity in the market with exceptional financial performance as a result. Lidls ascendency is summarised by Fuller (1999, p.3) who defines marketing success as satisfied consumers and concurrent profit for the firm. Lidls performance as a direct result of their marketing strategy firmly reflects this concept, which is testimony to all that they have achieved. However just as change brought Lidl success, it must be acknowledged that it can usher in collapse. Lidl have constructed a vast infrastructure in the UK that will allow them to pursue even more market share. The st rategies that they deployed in the past seven years may no longer be adequate so it is vital that they continue to evaluate their environment and make decisions accordingly. Brand awareness and changing brand perception is the most vital area for the future marketing strategy as it will determine continued customer loyalty. Lidl now undoubtedly have the platform to become a market leader in the long term future if they continue to fuel growth by reacting to the ever changing consumer demands which has helped them climb to such a prosperous position. Structural inertia must not be allowed to breed, with moving forward the primary focus. References Aaker, D.A., McLoughlin, D. (2010) Strategic Market Management: Global perspectives. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons Ltd. Blackman, J. (1975) Social responsibility and accountability. New York: New York University Press. Blythman, J. (2008) The rise of Lidl Britain during the credit crunch. Telegraph. [online] Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3637902/The-rise-of-Lidl-Britain-during-the-credit-crunch.html Connolly, K. (2008) German supermarket chain Lidl accused of snooping on staff. The Guardian. [online] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/27/germany.supermarkets Boulstridge, E. and Carrigan, M. (2000) Do consumers really care about corporate responsibility? Highlighting the attitude gap. Journal of Communication Management, 4 (4), pp.221-245. Brinded, L. (2015) Aldi and Lidl are crushing Britains supermarkets. Business Insider. [online] Available from: https://uk.businessinsider.com/kantar-worldpanel-data-aldi-and-lidl- market-share-2015-6 Burt, S. (2000) The strategic role of retail brands in British grocery retiling. European Journal of Marketing, 34 (8), pp.874-889. Burt, S. and Sparks, L. (2003) Power and competition in the UK retail grocery market. British Journal of Management, 14 (3), pp.236-253. Butler, S. (2015) Grocery price falls hurting UK supermarkets. The Independent. [online] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/06/grocery-price-falls-hurting-all-uk-supermarkets-kantar Chisnall, P.M. (1995) Strategic Business Marketing. 3rd ed. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall International Limited. Dekimpe, M.G., Fornell, C. and Rust, R.T. (2010) The effect of customer satisfaction on consumer spending growth. Journal of Marketing Research, 47 (1), pp.28-35. Drucker, P. (1984) The new meaning of corporate social responsibility. California Management Review, 26 (2), pp. 52-64. Durrani, A. (2015) Lidl calls ÂÂ £50 media review. Campaign. [online] Availabl e from: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/lidl-calls-50m-media-review/1351383 Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M.D. (2014) Marketing Strategy. 6th ed. United States if America: Cengage Learning. Fifield, P. (1998) Marketing Strategy. 2ND ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Fuller, D.A. (1999) Sustainable Marketing: managerial-ecological issues. California: SAGE Publications Inc. Hooley, G., Nicolaud, B. and Piercy, N.F. (2008) Market Strategy and Competitive Positioning. 4th ed. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited. Igd (2015) UK grocery retailing. [Online] Available from: https://www.igd.com/Research/Retail/retail-outlook/3371/UK-Grocery-Retailing/ Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (2000) Exploring corporate strategy. Harlow: Pearson education. Lidl (2012). [online] Available from: https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/659.htm McCarthy, E.J. (1960) Basic marketing: a managerial approach. Homewood: Richard D. Irwin Inc. Oliver, R.L. (1999) Fundamental issues and directions f or marketing. Journal of Marketing, 63 (3), pp.33-44. Porter, M.E. (1985) Competitive advantage. New York: Free Press. Senior, B. and Swailes, S. (2000) Organizational Change. 4th ed. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited. Stigler, G.J. (1968) The organisation of industry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Value Chain By Michael Porter - 2187 Words

Value Chain Analysis Value Chain is a strategic tool to measure the importance of the customer’s perceived value in value chain analysis. By enabling companies to determine the strategic advantages and disadvantages of their activities and value-creating processes in the marketplace, value chain analysis assumes critical importance in assessing competitive advantage. The dissertation explores the different elements of the value chain of computer hardware and behemoth Dell and seeks to understand how the different elements interact to create value for the organization. Literature Review The idea of a value chain was first suggested by Michael Porter (1985) to depict how customer value accumulates along a chain of activities that lead to an end product or service. Porter describes the value chain as the internal processes or activities a company performs â€Å"to design, produce, market, deliver and support its product.† He further states that â€Å"a firm’s value chain and the way it performs individual activities are a reflection of its history, its strategy, its approach to implementing its strategy, and the underlying economics of the activities themselves.† Porter describes two major categories of business activities: primary activities and support activities. Primary activities are directly involved in transforming inputs into outputs and in delivery and after-sales support. These are generally also the line activities of the organization. They include: i. inboundShow MoreRelatedValue Chain Analysis By Michael Porter Essay2186 Words   |  9 PagesWhat is a Value Chain? A value chain is a set of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market. 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I Know WhyThe Caged Bird Sings Essay Summary Example For Students

I Know WhyThe Caged Bird Sings Essay Summary I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By: Maya Angelou When I started reading I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, I thought that it was a little boring at first but I thought that it was about a young African-American girl who tells her troubles in life as she grows up. I changed my mind about my thoughts on this book because I started reading it more I began to like it better and I was more into the book. My favorite part of the book was when Maya started to open up to the world again and began by doing so by talking to Mrs. Bertha Flowers. I was confused by why Margaret and Bailey were sent back to stamps after the incident, with Marguerite being raped, with Mr. Freeman. Because if their parents loved them and could now afford to support them why couldnt they now stay with them? I was surprised when Mr. Freeman had began to sexually abuse and rape Maya because I didnt think that he would do such a thing to his girlfriends daughter, and who would have thought that hed be such a cruel person to do that to a young helpless girl that didnt know right from wrong at the time. I predict that Maya will finally fully overcome her rape and live a better life. I liked the way the writer put a lot of emotions into her writing because it tells a lot about the character and how the character feels. I didnt like that Marguerite and Bailey were sent to Mommas because their parents couldnt take care of them because children should feel loved and wanted by their parents and a real family should stick together through thick and thin no matter what. If I wrote this book I would change the way that Bailey became distant from Maya because they had such a special bond, and a bond like that between brother and sister shouldnt have deteriorated like that. This book reminded me of a scared and lonely, helpless child who was raped by someone she trusted and didnt know that it was wrong at the time. I would like to read another book by this writer because she deals with many things that our true and real in our society. I would recommend this book to a friend because its a good book to read to understand what rape can do to a young child both emotionally and physically, which doesnt just happen to young children but to teenagers and adults also. This book made me feel sorry for Maya for the hardships she went through going up especially being raped and not knowing what to do about it at all. This book made me think a lot about racism, sexual abuse and rape of a young girl, and the strong beliefs in Christianity in African-American life. This book made me realize that rape has a major effect on a young girl and it then leads the person into a different life then they would have. Also, that racism was a lot different and harder to deal with then. While I was reading I pictured a young African-American girl who was raped and decided to shut the world out of her life but to later grow and let the world back in her life and start to be happy again. The most important thing about this book is that it tells about how rape to a young child can affect their life. Id like to tell the writer that she did a very good job in writing this book and that I admire her for writing about her life and the hardships shes gone through. Id like to ask the writer what happened to her and her son later on in life. .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f , .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .postImageUrl , .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f , .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:hover , .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:visited , .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:active { border:0!important; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:active , .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubf887a8111f9927e64ac9730ef150b3f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Karl Marx Argumentative Essay And did it help a lot more to tell your story to others and get your feelings out about your hardships. If I were Momma, I wouldnt have let Maya go back to visit her mother because I would have been a little scared that the same incident as last time would have happened, even though Mr. Freeman is dead I would still be worried. Also, I would have shown Marguerite and Bailey some more affection towards them. What happened in this book was very realistic because many children are sexually abused and raped in this day in age and racism is still going on today. My least favorite character was Mr. Freeman because he sexual abused and raped young Marguerite, when she didnt know that he was doing something very wrong to her at the time. I admire Momma for taking care of Marguerite and Bailey when no one else would. One thing Ive noticed about the authors style is that she expresses what the characters are feeling and how they try to deal with certain situations. If I could be any character in this book, I would be Momma because she took care of Marguerite and Bailey when no one else could or would and she was always there for people when they needed her. I agree with the writer about how racism is an ongoing problem in the world and people should just accept it and deal with it respectively and that rape and sexual abuse are also major factors today that can be very hard to deal with especially if its a young victim. I think the title is a good choice for this book because it seems that shes telling us that she knows why rape and racism are problems today because she herself had to deal with them in the past. A better title for this book would be My life of love, trials, and tribulations: A story by Maya Angelou because this book was an autobiography of Maya Angelou and the hardships that she went through as a child, teenager, and adult and the love that was shared throughout her life. I would change the ending to tell what happened later on in life to Maya and her son. In my opinion, the most important paragraph in this book is My race groaned. It was our people falling. It was another lynching, yet another Black man hanging from a tree. One more woman ambushed and raped. A Black boy whipped and maimed. It was hounds on the trail of a man running through slimy swamps. It was a white woman slapping her maid for being forgetful. This is an important paragraph because just one fight between a black man and a whit man is the basis of the African-Americans hope of freedom. Momma reminds me of myself because like her Im always or mostly there for people when they need me. Annie Henderson Momma reminds me of somebody I know because its reminds me of my grandmother who at a young age, her and her brothers and sisters, were sent to a orphanage after her mother died and her father could not take care of them anymore. And, when she was old enough to leave the orphanage she then got a job and supported her younger sister and older brothers and her father. And to this day she is a very supportive and loving person. If I could talk to Maya, I would say that I think shes a very brave person, whom I admire, to deal with her rape and also dealing with racism. When I finished this book, I still wondered what happened to her and her son later on in life. Did she ever find happiness and get married? This book was similar to other books by this writer because it had to do with similar things that go on in our society. I think the main thing the writer was trying to say is that rape is a very hard thing for a young child to deal with and they need to feel loved and wanted and not that they feel dirty to you. Also, that racism was hard on our society then and it still is sometimes today.

Uncle Tom A Synopsis Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Uncle Tom ; A Synopsis Essay, Research Paper Uncle Tom s Faith In the fresh Uncle Tom s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom, the chief character, possesses a trait that sanctifies him from the remainder of the characters. Uncle Tom s religion is his beginning of strength throughout the novel. This is portrayed socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Uncle Tom relies entirely on his religion in God to help him in all the tests, trials, and adversities that he endures. Tom neer succumbs to the wickedness that those around him are so profoundly engulfed. Tom s dedication to the Christian religion evidently sets him apart from the other characters in the narrative. However, without his unbinding belief in God, Uncle Tom would discontinue to be such a Christ-like figure. The first method in which Uncle Tom s religion allows him to get by with the adversities of bondage is socially. We will write a custom essay sample on Uncle Tom A Synopsis Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One must understand that Uncle Tom is invariably paralleled to Christ during the class of events in the novel. Tom is the societal leader of the slaves on the Shelby plantation. Uncle Tom s cabin is the focal point of family for the slaves. This is because everybody perceives Tom as a wise man, and besides because Aunt Chloe, his married woman, is a antic cook. His magnetic personality allows him to take and form their spiritual meetings which are held in his place every bit good. One can see how Tom s faith allows him to be a societal leader among the slaves. Stowe says on page 35 that, Uncle Tom was a kind of patriarch in spiritual affairs, in the vicinity. Having, of course, an organisation in which morale was strongly prevailing together with a greater comprehensiveness and cultivation of head that obtained among his comrades, he was looked up to with great regard, as a kind of curate among them. Uncle Tom disallowed his acknowledgment as an important figure to go egoistic. Tom prayed with, touching simpleness and childlike seriousness ( Stowe 35 ) . As Tom s character develops, the reader can place the sincere humbleness, trueness, and entry of his bosom. Despite the severe conditions of the clip, Tom uses his societal gifts to be a light to those he comes in contact with. Uncle Tom besides experienced emotional injury due to the afflictions of bondage every bit good as societal injury. The reader learns that without his religion, Tom would non hold acted in a Christ-like manner. The point in the novel in which Uncle Tom is to be sold to Mr. Haley portrays how Tom s faith enables him to digest the emotional facet of bondage s adversities. No, no, # 8211 ; I an T traveling. Let Eliza travel, # 8211 ; it s her right! I wouldn t be the one to state no, # 8211 ; tan T in natur for her to remain ; but you heard what she said! If I must be sold, or all the people on the topographic point, and everything go to single-foot, why, allow me be sold ( Stowe 45 ) . This quotation mark demonstrates Uncle Tom s religion and his complete trust in God. He had the perfect opportunity to get away to Canada and potentially go a free adult male. Nevertheless, Tom refuses and decides to allow destine take its toll. Immediately, Uncle Tom thinks of the other slaves on the plantation and he puts himself in their places. This besides shows his compassion ; the same compassion that Christ has bestowed on all of us. Tom, over the old ages, has formed many emotional relationships with the people he is about to disregard from his life. His religion in God, on the other manus, is stronger than the emotional ties he has built with his fellow slaves, including his married woman. Uncle Tom sacrifices himself and is willing to be sold in order to salvage the plantation from pandemonium. One can now see how Tom s religion has helped him digest the societal and emotional facets of bondage. However, Uncle Tom s religion besides aided him in defying the religious facet as good. As the novel progresses, Tom s religion is tested more and more. It would hold been easy for Uncle Tom to hold lost hope and given up. On the contraire, Tom s faith strengthens as the novel comes to a stopping point. He knows that God has put him on this Earth for a intent. Due to his powerful religion, Tom isn T afraid of decease, if that is God s will for his life. The reader finds Uncle Tom apologizing human nature. Tom feels sorry and takes commiseration on the status of the slave proprietor s psyches. He does non keep a score, but prays for their bad luck. Uncle Tom is in a changeless hope for the hereafter. This is besides how he is able to digest the adversities of bondage on a religious footing. Tom s focal point is non on the present, but the hereafter. Although Tom realizes that the hereafter may keep decease, he knows that if that is the instance so he will pass infinity with the Lord. Eva St. Clare helps Tom expression at the bigger image. When Eva is on the brink of deceasing she says, Oh, I am so happy, Uncle Tom, to believe I shall see you in Eden, – for I m certain I shall ( Stowe 314 ) . Eva s optimism and beatific qualities during the events of the novel are a religious encouragement to Tom. This helps Uncle Tom dressed ore on God and bury about his barbarous conditions as a slave. Another illustration of this can be found when Eva is discoursing with Uncle Tom and provinces, Uncle Tom, I can understand why Jesus wanted to decease for us. Because I ve felt so, excessively ( Stowe 299 ) . Uncle Tom responds by stating that he doesn t rather understand what she means. Then Eva goes on to state, I can t state you ; but, when I saw those hapless animals on the boat, you know, when you came up and I, some had lost their female parents, and some their hubbies, and some female parents cried for their small kids, and when I heard about hapless Prue, oh, wasn T that awful! and a great many other times I ve felt that I would be glad to decease, if my death could halt all this wretchedness. I would decease for them, Tom, if I could ( Stowe 299 ) . Here one can reason that Eva does hold compassion on all people. After Eva verbalized her feelings, Stowe goes on to state, Tom looked at the kid with awe ; and when she, hearing her male parent s voice, glided off, he wiped his eyes many times, as he looked at her ( Stowe 299 ) . Eva did so hold a positive religious impact on Tom get bying with the adversities of bondage. The last manner in which Uncle Tom s faith helps him digest the adversities of bondage is physically. Toward the terminal of the novel he is sold to Simon Legree, due to the decease of Mr. St. Clare. Simon Legree was the most ruthless of all Tom s Masterss. Without religion, Tom would hold acted in the mode that Mr. Legree desired him to make so. Tom would hold been like any other character if he had succumbed to Legree s enticement. In the same manner, if Jesus had sinned would He non be set apart from the human race? Uncle Tom displays how his religion helps him through the physical anguish of bondage at the terminal of chapter 23. At this point in the novel, it was clip to come in from working in the Fieldss and weigh one s basket. Tom s basket was weighed and approved. Now his new friend, who was called Miss Cassy, came frontward to hold her basket weighed. She said something to Simon Legree in French that cipher nearby understood. Nevertheless, Legree s visage became amuck. When this incident occurred, Mr. Legree asked Uncle Tom to welt her. Uncle Tom responded by merely declining at first and so he explained that there was no manner possible that he could travel through with it. Legree didn t take this kindly. He said, Ye ll learn a pretty smart opportunity of things ye neer did cognize, before I ve done with ye! ( Stowe 386 ) . Stowe goes on in depicting that Legree said this piece, taking up a cowskin, and striking Tom a heavy blow across the cheek, and following up the imposition by a shower of blows ( Stowe 386 ) . Uncle Tom so raised his manus to pass over the blood from his face and exclaimed, Mas R, I neer shall make it, -never! ( Stowe 386 ) . Without his religion, Uncle Tom would hold surrendered to the physical adversities of bondage. However, possessing his religion, allowed him the capacity to defy all physical agony. This is made clear to the reader in the chapter. Simon Legree longs for something he can non possess ; faith. It is human natur e to be selfish. When 1 does non hold something, they do non desire another person to possess the same thing. This appears to be the state of affairs in this instance. Legree desires Uncle Tom s religion or religion in general, but he has no capacity for it. Alternatively, he tries to do Uncle Tom his whipping boy. Tom, nevertheless, bases house when he says, No! no! no! my psyche an T yours, Mas R! You haven t bought it, -ye can t purchase it! It s been bought and paid for, by one that is able to maintain it ; -no affair, no affair, you can t harm me! ( Stowe 387 ) . To be honest, reading Uncle Tom s Cabin was no easy undertaking. The narrative does hold an impact that resides in my encephalon nevertheless. To believe that bondage was really a manner of life in our ain state, the United States of America, is intolerable. The thought that there are inferior and superior human existences is absurd. However, this still goes on in our state to this really twenty-four hours. Reading Uncle Tom s Cabin has made me more watchful of my actions, non merely toward people of the different races, but people of the opposite sex every bit good. I think that Uncle Tom s Cabin should be a compulsory reading in high schools nationally. Our state has come a long manner since Uncle Tom s epoch, but it is dry how history has the leaning of reiterating itself.

’Risk is a term that is so broad in interpretation and context that any attempt to define it is futile and a form of ‘linguistic imperialism’ The WritePass Journal

’Risk is a term that is so broad in interpretation and context that any attempt to define it is futile and a form of ‘linguistic imperialism’ Introduction ’Risk is a term that is so broad in interpretation and context that any attempt to define it is futile and a form of ‘linguistic imperialism’ IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction What is a risk? According to the historical background, the term ‘risk’ takes his origin from the Arabic word risq or the Latin word riscum (Merna and Al-Thani, 2005). The Arabic risq means a chance with positive outcome. In opposite, the Latin riscum is an event with unfavourable issue. In the 17th  century, term reached Europe and meant ‘’in terms of good and bad fortune’’ (Wikipedia, 2010). In our days term `risk acquires a slightly changed meaning. Macmillan dictionary (2010) defines risk as ‘’the  possibility  that  something unpleasant  or  dangerous  might  happen’’. Another interpretation of this term was established by UK Association for Project Management (2006): ‘’risk is an uncertain event or set of circumstances which, should it  occur, will have an effect on the achievement of the projects objectives’’. In different walks of life risk has different meanings, with negative, positive or neutral effect. For instance, in the project management, many discussions and debates are conducted by scholars and researchers about using the term `risk. There is a tendency treat risk as  uncertainty (Perminova, et al., 2008). For fully understanding whether this treatment is correct or not, it is necessary to define term `uncertainty. According to Oxford dictionary (2010) uncertainty is ‘’something that you cannot be sure about; a situation that causes you to be or feel uncertain’’.  If consider term `uncertainty from angle of psychology, uncertainty is illuminated as ‘’a state of mind characterized by a conscious lack of knowledge about the outcomes of an event’’ (Perminova, et al., 2008). Variety studies about distinctions between risk and uncertainty exists in our days. Practitioners and researchers cannot to come to one sole resolution. As was mentioned above, risk is treated as uncertain event, and some researchers incline to transform risk management to uncertainty management (Ward and Chapman, 2003). Variety opinions about using terms ‘risk’ and ‘uncertainty’ and the reason of the transforming risk management to uncertainty management will be considered in this essay. In accordance with the article `A positive approach to risk requires person centred thinking risk is described as ‘’a futile form of linguistic imperialism’’ (Neill, et al., 2009). Risk in its popular usage is essential only for political and social decision making processes, not for risk analysis processes. Sven Ove Hansson (2005) agrees with the article, that risk is an ineffective form of linguistic imperialism. Also he thinks that in practice to define only single meaning of ‘risk’ is impossible. In spite of this, attempts at such linguistic imperialism are not uncommon. He explains his statement, that the term `risk may have different meanings dependently of the subject and situation, when risk is used. According to David Hilson and Murray-Webster (2007) risk has two characteristics: uncertainty and consequences. But risk ‘’is not the same as uncertainty’’; the key difference between these two notions ‘’arises from consideration of the consequences’’. Risk is an uncertainty that could influence one or more objectives, and authors present the example: a child will pass examination tomorrow with uncertain results, but these results are not important for other people. For them exam outcome is uncertainty, which is insignificant and therefore it cannot be pose as risk. Uncertainty about weather in Kazakhstan tomorrow also insignificant for most of people and so this too is not a risk. But if the child is a Kazakh and he was promised by his father to go to fishing trip if his exam results will be high, both uncertainties become major and significant in the context, and therefore they can be posed as risk. From this example it becomes understandable that ‘’there are some uncertainties that do not matter in the relevant context’’. Author states that linking risk with objectives clarifies that every aspect of life is risky. Also he affirms that this link is necessary to the risk management, ‘’since it is a prerequisite for identifying risks, assessing their significance and determining appropriate responses’’. In the book `Reducing Project Risk risks connects uncertainty with objectives. ‘’Risk is the effect of uncertainty on objectives, to be managed opportunity’’. Risk exists when probabilities of possible issues are known, and uncertainty has a place, when these probabilities are unknown (Kliem and Ludin, 1997). Halim A. Boussabaine and Richard J. Kirkham (2004) in the book Whole Life-cycle Costing also write that ‘’concept of risk deals with measurable probabilities while the concept of uncertainty does not’’. When event encounters with risk, probabilities can be developed, and when event encounters with uncertainty, probabilities cannot be defined. If probability cannot mathematically be expressed it is uncertainty, while risk can be calculated in terms of probability. Finkel (1990 cited in Merna and Al-Thani, 2005) distinguish risk and uncertainty as: risk is taken to have quantifiable attributes, and a place in the calculus of pr obabilities, whereas uncertainty does not. Above were shown differences between risk and uncertainty, and their characteristics. Now will be observed terms ‘risk’ and ‘uncertainty’ in project management. Stephen Ward and Chris Chapman (2003) believe that different definitions of term `risk create a problem of its equivocal use ‘’as a synonym of probability or chance in relation to an event or outcome’’. They cite on Oxford Dictionary, where risk is described as danger or probability of bad outcomes. Also they refer on definition of risk, which was published by the UK Association for Project Management, which was described above. In spite of considering risk as an event with positive or negative effects, risk frequently is treated as event with an undesirable issue. Risk has a negative effect, rather than positive, people predispose to consider only unfortunate probabilities (Neill, et al., 2009). Ward and Chapman incline treat risk in hazard terms and Project Risk Management as ‘’primarily threat management’’, and they suggest use the term `uncertainty management instead of `risk management. In their opinion, use term `uncertainty management is more preferable, as uncertainty management means analysing and understanding the root of project uncertainty without prejudice about what desired or not before managing it. Researchers propose to transform risk management to uncertainty management, as use the term uncertainty management can improve project management processes, and they suggest to start revising by using term `uncertainty every time instead of `lack of certainty. Mostly important in this revising of terms that focus will be concentrate on process, not in product. They suppose that project performance can be more modified and improved, if this revising will be accepted, as from their point of view risk management restricts the contribution to project performance, as is threat orientated and ‘’not readily focussed on sources of operational variability in the performance of organisational activities’’, when uncertainty management perspective more concentrates on project life cy cle stage. Perminova et al. (2008) incline to agree with the statement of Ward and Chapman and suggest developing and researching the question of transforming.   In their work term `uncertainty is defined ‘’as a context for risks as events having a negative impact on the projects outcomes, or opportunities, as events that have beneficial impact on project performance’’. Risk and uncertainty are not synonymous. They are cause and consequence. Risk is one of the involvements of uncertainty, it cannot treat as uncertainty. From their point of view risk is certain and known, where uncertainty is event unpredictable and unexpected. Project manager can foresee potential threat and can undertake appropriate measures. In situation of uncertainty it is not possible to compute risk, therefore risk is less dangerous than uncertainty. Planning of risks is a significant step of project management in order to prevent undesirable issue of the project. But defining of risks depends on abilities and skills of project manager to recognise possible threats. Also project manager should be able use own knowledge from previous experience in order to overcome uncertain situations. However, it is not always possible to recognise all risks in advance. That is why authors believe that planning is not enough instruments in managing risks. ‘’One can plan only what one knows for certain.’’ Risk managers plan and consider risks, but there are uncertainties, which cannot be considered and foresaw. As the Danish Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr said: ‘’Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future’’, to foresee all possible outcomes are very difficult too or even impossible (Hilson and Murray-Webster, 2007). Development of project management abilities and skills is ‘’an essential part of understanding and managing uncertainty’’. If the organisation or firm want to perform and extent themselves, it is necessary to manage uncertainty if you do not have uncertainty, you do not have any evolution. Unfortunately, not all understand the importance of development of uncertainty management, because of lack understanding of definition of uncertainty. Perminova, Gustafsson and Wikstrom recommend continuing exploring uncertainty in order to develop project management. Another risk researcher Jack Dowie (1999) claims that term `risk is a ‘’obstacle to improved decision and policy making’’, and it does not matter if this term uses separately or with other terms. `Its multiple and ambiguous usages constantly exposes to threat of separation such tasks as identifying evidence and making value conclusions. He writes, citing on Walkers paper, that risk defiles all discussions of probability ‘’because of the implicit value judgement/s that the term always bring with it’’, just as it defiles all discussions of value estimate ‘’because of the implicit probability judgement/s that it contains’’. Also he states that instead of `risk decisions and `risk factors people should use simply `decisions and `factors. It is not essential to use these terms with the word `risk. Word `risk only prevent from making right decisions. Kaplan (1997 cited in Dowie, 1999) joins to his words. He sa ys: ‘’for [communication] to take place, it is crucial that we have words that we all understand and use in the same way’’. However, `risk is ‘’not one of those words and that attempts to clarify it are doomed’’. Eventually, Dowie identifies that `risk has not important meaning; therefore `risk should be avoided in using. Risk has no importance and significance in making decisions. He strictly argues against risk. There are many opinions and points of view about using term ‘risk. Ones say that this using confuse and prevent from making right decisions and they argue definitely against risk, others that risk should be considered in certain situation and dependently of the subject, and it is wrong to examine risk in common application, also some of researchers suggest to transform risk to uncertainty. However, all of them agree that this field of discussions still stay open and need to explore and develop until all researchers will come to the one sole agreement. In project management, confronting with risk problems, sometimes disconcerts and makes difficult to reach definite purpose and in the case of using term ‘risk’ it seems that Perminova, Gustafsson and Wikstrom have a right point of view to this topic, that risk management and utilizing term ‘risk’ are needed researching and further exploring. Examining and studying an area of using term ‘risk’ can help improve not only risk management, but the whole project management too (Perminova, et al., 2008). References Association for Project Management (2006). APM Body of Knowledge. 5th ed. High Wycombe: Association for Project Management. Boussabaine, H.A. and Kirkham, R.J. (2004). Whole life-cycle costing: risk and risk responses. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Dowie, J. (1999). Against risk. Risk decision and policy 4(1), 57-73. Hansson, S.O. (2005). Seven myths of risk. Risk Management: An International Journal 7(2), 7-17. Hilson, D. and Murray-Webster, R. eds. (2007). Understanding and managing risk attitude. 2nd ed. Aldershot: Gower. Kliem, R.L. and Ludin I.S. (1997). Reducing project risk. Hampshire: Gover Publishing Limited. Macmillan dictionary. (2010). Definitions risk [online]. Available from: macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/risk   [accessed 5 October 2010]. Merna, T. and Al-Thani, Faisal F. (2005). Corporate risk management: an organisational perspective. West Sussex: John Wiley sons, Ltd. Neill, M. et al. (2008). A positive approach to risk requires person centred thinking. Available from: puttingpeoplefirst.org.uk/_library/Resources/Personalisation/Personalisation_advice/A_Person_Centred_Approach_to_Risk.pdf [accessed 16 October 2010]. Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. (2010). Definitions uncertainty [online]. Available from: oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/uncertainty [accessed 7 October 2010]. Perminova, O. et al. (2008). Defining uncertainty in projects – a new perspective. International Journal of Project Management 26(1), 73-79. Ward, S. and Chapman C. (2003). Transforming project risk management into project uncertainty management. International Journal of Project Management 21(2), 97-105. Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia. (2010). Definitions risk [online]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk [accessed 10 October 2010].

The significance of a designed product (Product Design) Essay

The significance of a designed product (Product Design) - Essay Example Normally, product designing is being carried out by engineers and highly-skilled designers and usually engages with the people in the marketing, business, or even in military in order to gather inputs that would help build the physical product. Product design is a component of a much comprehensive term called â€Å"product development†, which comprises the creation or organization of the product requisites, the basic idea of the product, and product evaluation. Product has long been resorted to as a means of systematically creating a physical product. As a matter of fact, it is being employed during the earlier eras to help plan the overall design and functions of artifacts. The significance of a designed product can be dated back as to the Mozambique period or even earlier. Thus, there is a rich historical importance the ties up product design and artifacts together. Today, the influence of product design has thrived even more. Product design is widely used in STEM fields, es pecially in the natural sciences and engineering. Today, many technology companies around the world are investing huge amounts in product design in order for them to increase their value in the market (Chitale and Gupta 2005). They are also using product design to influence or indirectly manipulate revenues. However, this revenue-focused design is largely applicable to computer products and not significantly on artifacts. This paper focuses on the significance of product design or designed product in the creation of artifacts. In particular, we will focus on a piece of furniture known as the â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† – an influential design made to order by Bishop Dinis Sengulane of the Christian Council of Mozambique, and was designed and created by Kester. Thus, the â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† is also called â€Å"The Kester’s Chair.† We will look at the nooks and crannies of the design of this amazing piece of artifact and draw inferences an d insights on how product design helped work out the entirety of the product. History of the â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† The â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† is a piece of artifact built by Kester from abandoned firearms. He created the sculpture by attaching different types of firearms together. Since 2002, the sculpture is under the care of the British Museum. Many considers it as the British Museum’s most expressive piece of art judging from the perspective that the object has been presented in a more extensive myriad of ways than any other piece of artifact (BBC 2013). The majority of the sculpture’s composition is composed of decommissioned weapons from the Mozambique Civil war that took place between 1977 and 1992 (BBC 2013 2013). Just for a historical background, the Mozambique War killed nearly a million lives and internally dislocated 5 million people. Thus, in essence, apart from its form is the significance of its historical background: the sculpt ure resembles both the unnatural catastrophe of the war and the victory of the people. The

Cognitive Linguistics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cognitive Linguistics - Term Paper Example 24). In his classification the â€Å"symbols† refer to the arbitrary signs, while â€Å"indices† and â€Å"icons† refer to the motivated ones. Arbitration is the process of giving the objects the titles that have nothing to do with its features and nature, while motivation is the process that is based on cause and effect relations between a referent and a sign. According to Pierce, the example of a â€Å"symbol† can be the word â€Å"table† – the sign does not reveal any outward or inner features or functions of the object. However, his indices and icons are more or less motivated. Indices represent the signs where the sign is determined by proximity or causality. The examples here are the smoke coming from the building – that indicates fire, the movement of the pointed finger at any object is also an index. The relation here is based on causality, common knowledge and traditions of people’s culture. Studying icons Pierce distin guished three types of icons. Image is a kind of sign that either visually, audibly or in any other way resembles a referent. The examples here include paintings, photos or onomatopoetic words. By copying something with gestures or mimics we also display images. The second type is metaphor that has a more elusive nature, though it is still based on the abstract resemblance of a referent. Using some gestures of non-verbal communication can also illustrate the metaphor, since it is based on a kind of meaningful transition. For instance, while discussing some problems a person can show the size of the problem with the hands. Certainly, the size is abstract and relative but it has the beginning and the end. In this case the intention of a person to demonstrate the seriousness of the problem is the main factor that refers it to the â€Å"image† sign. The third type is diagrams that show information, tendencies or figures in absolutely another way, but still they do not represent t he very object to us. A wiring diagram demonstrates the relationship between â€Å"the parts of a circuit, but neither the general form of the diagram nor the indexes of the certain parts need to look like the physical circuit† (Hinton, 1994, p. 34) In the history of linguistics scientists tended to focus more on arbitration than on motivation. Though, it cannot be but mention that the most part of the signs in the language are of the arbitrary nature, but still the motivated ones are not to be neglected. As mentioned above all our gestures that go with our verbal speech are sure to have the motivated nature. The language of the deaf has a more iconic implication than the spoken language. The examples of early written languages Sumerian, ancient Chinese and Egyptian bore the iconic nature. The language in this case was carried out through the pictograms or signs that represent exactly an icon. Unlike the study of Saussure the signs of the spoken language do not have only arbi trary nature. The motivated signs refer not only to onomatopoeia and sound symbolism but also to some syntactical structures. A man has many various forms of communication, though it is possible to mark out two basic forms of it. It is necessary to understand the development and importance of motivation signs and for translators and interpreters it is necessary to differentiate them in the process of communication. Our two most typical forms of communic

The Performance Of Unilever

The Performance Of Unilever In 1999, Unilever implemented what they considered to be an ambitious strategy named Path to Growth which they believed achieved a lot in terms of brand focus, global buying, operating margins and capital efficiency (Cescau Rivers, 2007b). However, according to the then Group Chief Executive Patrick Cescau, the strategy failed to transform growth performance (Cescau Rivers, 2007b, 1). Consequently, adjustments were made to the strategy between 2005 and 2006, aimed at reorganizing and streamlining Unilevers organization and to increase awareness of the Unilever brand (Johnson Scholes, 2006). In terms of innovation, Unilever delivered bigger and better innovations, rolled out faster and to more markets (Unilever, 2009, 5). The tremendous success in fast and effective rollout of innovations was enhanced greatly by the one organizational structure (One Unilever) introduced into the business as a result of the adjustments made to Path to Growth (Unilever, 2009a). For example, the Dove Minimising Deodorant has been rolled out across 37 markets and Clear Shampoo across 37 markets. The success in this area has also been reward by the business publication Fast Company which recently recognized us as the fourth most innovative company in advertising and marketing. In terms of cost saving, the business focused on discontinuing and cutting out activities that failed to add value. The restructuring was one such activity. In 2009 alone, Unilever, achieved cost savings of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.4bn, which was better than expected and also improved working capital by à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.9bn (Unilever, 2009a. Despite these and other successes including mergers and acquisitions, operational and sustainability and corporate responsibility, Unilever also failed to achieve some of their targets. For example, in two key markets, India and Spain, we took longer to respond to changing market dynamics and to the intense level of competition especially from low-cost local competitors (Unilever, 2009a, 6). In the processed and packaged goods industry in which Unilever operates, this is a significant failing as the battle for market share is fierce (Ehlers Estes, 2007). Companies primarily achieve this primarily by cost leadership strategies, therefore the need for Unilever to continue on their cost cutting drive cannot be overestimated. Another significant challenge is their inability to develop their brands to top quality status. In their own estimation, product quality is getting better, but we need more of our products to show superiority and there is ample scope to sharpen our communications and to set the innovation bar even higher (Unilever, 2009a, 6). Financial Performance To put Unilevers performance into context, let us look at some of their financial ratios for both the financial year ended 31 December 2009 and ratio averages for a five year period which includes 2006 to 2009. Figure 1: Sales Growth (%) of Unilever, Processed Packaged Goods Industry and SPs 500. Data Source: Yahoo Finance Figure 1 shows Unilevers performance compared against its competitors and the SPs 500 benchmark which has been widely regarded as the best single gauge of the large cap US equities market since the index was first published in 1975 (Standard and Poors, nd). The chart on the left shows the close to 5% decrease in growth of Unilevers sales while the industry average recorded an increase between 2008 and 2009. This reveals that the competition is making inroads in regaining lost market share during the period of the economic downturn. The five year average for Unilever is still showing a positive although it is significantly below industry average. Figure 2 below shows the earnings per share position for the last three years for Unilever. Figure 2: Earnings per share for Unilever (2007 2009) Data source: Yahoo Finance The earnings per share ($) shows the profit attributable to each share held by Unilever for the last three years (McLaney, 2006). Despite a recovery from 2008, the 2009 EPS has fallen again and to levels below 2007s. Figure 3 shows the Price/Earnings ratio compared with competitors and the SP benchmark. Figure 3: P/E Ratio (2009) Source: Yahoo Finance The price earnings ratio is the number of years that it would take at the current share price and rate of earnings, for the earnings from the share to cover the price of the share (McLaney, 2006, 58). This is one of the most important measures investors use to assess a company. Unilever is once again operating below industry average and way below a benchmark of companies in the stock market. This implies that investors are less confident of growth in future earnings (McLaney, 2006, 58) of Unilever compared with industry average and the benchmark of leading companies. In terms of profitability, Figure one shows the position. Profitability Ratios % Unilever Industry SP Gross margin 30.40 38.50 Net margin 9.20 9.80 10.50 5 yr Gross margin 48.60 46.80 37.80 5 yr Net margin 10.10 9.50 11.30 ROCE 15.60 15.00 9.30 ROE 30.60 29.80 20.50 Table 1: Profitability Ratios Source: Yahoo Finance Gross margin figure for 2008 2009 was unavailable for Unilever. The net margin which shows the proportion of profit left for Unilever after all expenses have been taken into account is around the industry average for the period 2008 2009. The 5 year average positions for both gross and net margins are favourable for Unilever, compared to its competitors. Its 5 year gross margin is also significantly better than SPs 500. The return on capital employed (ROCE) and return on equity (ROE) positions are also marginally better than the industry average and significantly better than SPs 500. While the ROCE is a measure of profit as a percentage of total assets less current liabilities, the ROE looks at matters more specifically from the shareholders viewpoint, and reports on profit earned by shareholders after all charges have been accounted for (McLaney, 2006). Table 2 below shows the liquidity and gearing positions of Unilever and comparisons with other companies. Gearing and Liquidity Unilever Industry SP 500 Debt/Equity Ratio 0.83 0.81 1.37 Interest Coverage 48.30 21.00 27.10 Current Ratio 0.90 1.20 1.40 Quick Ratio 0.60 0.80 1.20 Table 2: Gearing and Liquidity. Data source: Yahoo Finance The Debt/Equity Ratio as with all Capital Gearing ratios is concerned with the relative sizes of the funds provided by shareholders on the one hand, and by loan creditors on the other (McLaney, 2006, 56). The higher the ratio, the riskier the business is concerned to be. In this case, the ratio is around industry average and less than the benchmark of top companies, so it should not cause too concern. The interest coverage shows that Unilever can comfortable meet interest payments as they fall due way above the industry average. In terms of liquidity, the current ratio is a measure of whether the current assets are able to meet current liabilities obligations as they fall due. This does not appear to be the case if payment is requested immediately (which a ratio of at least 1:1 will be able to do). In practice however, it is unrealistic to expect to ask for their payments at once unless the business was in serious problems. Therefore, although lower than the competition the current ratio and the quick ratio (which looks at the most liquid of assets, normally excluding inventory) should not cause panic although ways to increase it must be looked at. Brand Awareness According to Unilever, brands and innovation are at the heart of everything we do. We develop our products to keep pace with changes in consumer lifestyles and to appeal to people at all income levels. Success means getting bigger and better innovations into the market faster, supported by the very best marketing (Unilever, 2009, 8). These statements are indeed backed up by initiatives undertaken in the last few years in the UK to increase brand awareness. Some of these initiatives will be briefly described. According to Mathiesen (2009, 19), a recent campaign for Lynx for Men, one of Unilevers mens deodorants, resulted in a 56% increase in (prompted) brand awareness in the UK. This campaign was done through mobile marketing. The campaign sought to achieve the following objectives (Mathiesen, 2009): To enhance awareness of the Lynx brand To market to the 16-24 year old male who are traditionally hard to reach through traditional advertising methods To promote the Lynx brand as attractive to women and modern The success is not only evidenced by the 56% promoted awareness, according to Mathiesen (2009), 86% could recall the Lynx advert and 44% of people felt more positive about Lynx after seeing the add. Not only are Unilever working on improving product branding, they have most significantly moved to increase the company brand image. In March 2009, Unilever UK and Ireland began putting the corporate branding on its product brand advertising including TV, posters and press (Unilever, 2009b), starting with Flora. This move was influenced by research which showed that consumers in the UK and Ireland have relatively low awareness and knowledge of our company, compared to some of our competitors. They are open to the idea of us promoting Unilever more overtly and see this as a sign of honesty and transparency. For a company as large as Unilever, it is surprising that a lot of people who use a lot of their products on a daily basis do not know the name of the company. The same could not be said of its competitors like Nestle or Kraft, for instance. In an industry as competitive as the processed and packaged goods industry, where the extent of competitive rivalry is very high, brand awaren ess is a vital source of achieving and sustaining competitive advantage (Porter, 1998b). Brand Theories Indeed, the importance of Unilever focusing on promoting brand awareness is supported by relevant theory. MacDonald and Sharp (2003, 1), citing Rossiter and Percy (1987) described brand awareness as being essential for the communications process to occur as it precedes all other steps in the process. Without brand awareness occurring, no other communication effects can occur. In other words, a consumer is likely to buy a brand if they are made aware of it. MacDonald and Sharp (2003, 1) also go on to discuss memory theory where brand awareness is position as a vital first step in building the bundle of associations which are attached to the brand in memory (citing Stokes, 1985). Brand awareness is very important when a consumer is making what are usually very quick purchase decisions. According to MacDonald and Sharp (2003), where a customer can identify certain brands, he or she spends very little time looking at unfamiliar brands. Consequently, an unfamiliar brand name or one that is not aggressively promoted risks being ignored, irrespective of the quality of the product. Even after a consumer has formed a consideration set and chosen the few brands from which she will make her purchasing decision, consumers decide to purchase only familiar, well established brands (Keller, 1993). The decision is usually made very quickly as well. According to Dickson and Sawyer (1986), it takes approximately 12 seconds on average for a consumer to view product alternatives and make a choice from different brands. MacDonald and Sharp (2003, 2) also explained that brand awareness affects customers perception of quality. They cited Hoyer and Brown (1990) who found in a consumer choice study that over 70% of consumers selected a known brand of peanut butter from among a choice of three, even though another brand was objectively better quality (as determined by blind taste tests) and even though they had neither bought or used the brand before. This result is even more surprising considering the subjects were given the opportunity to taste all of the brands. Just being a brand dramatically affected their evaluation of the brand (MacDonald and Sharp, 2003, 2). Therefore, Unilever has tremendous opportunities to marry the popularity of their tremendous brand image for most of their products to the corporate brand image. With effective marketing strategies they can generate enough consumer trust and loyalty to dominate entire shopping trolleys of families. This is because in the industry that Unileve r operates in and the kind of products it offers, consumers (buyers) have high bargaining powers. There is also low switching costs which means that a consumer may decide to switch from competitors deodorants to Lynx for the simple reason that the consumer has been used to buying Knorr stock. Recommended Strategy for Unilever Vision We work to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world. We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact (Unilever, nd). SWOT Analysis Based on an internal analysis of Unilever, their strengths and weaknesses were identified. The opportunities and threats facing Unilever were also determined by undertaking an external analysis. The internal analysis included a review of its financial performance, its marketing function, employees, operations, management, and management information (including technology and RD) which helped to pinpoint Unilevers strengths and weaknesses (Lynch, 2005). The external analysis used the PESTEL and Co. framework which stands for Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Ethical, Legal and Competition. From this analysis, the opportunities and threats facing the business were identified. Strengths Global company Economies of scale Good profit margins Competitive prices Strong brand image for products Innovation Developing and emerging markets Weaknesses Room for improvement in enhancing brand awareness Negative sales growth Company still not a household name Liquidity Opportunities Focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility Speed of technological advancement Low switching costs Threats Low consumer confidence Low consumer spending Volatile political climate in developing and emerging (DE) markets Global economic downturn Fierce competition Figure 4: SWOT Analysis In terms of Unilevers strengths, as was seen from the financial analysis above, they made good profit and their level of gearing is in line with competitors. They maintain a very strong presence in the developing and emerging markets with nearly 50% of their revenues coming from areas such as India and China. However, they need to increase their brand awareness although they are doing it with targeted advertising campaigns. In terms of opportunities, Unilever are well positioned to exploit the opportunities that result from being seen as a company that takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. For example, to meet their aim of growing their business while reducing their environmental impact, our Code of Business Principles and other operational and business polices are designed to ensure that we consistently maintain high social and environmental standards an d we have established processes to track performance in these areas. Our strategy benefits from the insights of the Unilever Sustainable Development Group, comprising five external specialists in corporate responsibility and sustainability that guide and critique the development of our strategy (Unilever, 2009a) In terms of threats facing Unilever, the threat of political volatility especially in emerging markets are mitigated by Unilevers already strong presence there. There have experience of operating in these markets for a good number of years, therefore, they can cope with the volatility. However, the economic downturn has proved constraining to not only Unilever but its competitors. This has also adversely affected consumer confidence and consequently consumer spending which companies like Unilever depend on for their success. Competition is fierce due to low profitability, fairly equal market share and undifferentiated products (Ehlers Estes, 2007). To be successful in the processed and packaged goods industry, there must exist high brand awareness, effective cost management to be able to charge low prices and the commitment to meet ethical standards. Unilever have the strengths to achieve these and are well on their way to overcome weaknesses relating to brand awareness. Once brand awareness increases and the economic conditions become better then this should impact positively on their business as consumer spending and confidence returns. Strategic Options and Choice Based on the SWOT analysis above Unilever are faced with different strategic growth options which are provided below, based on Ansoffs matrix (Johnson Scholes, 2006): Market penetration of existing products into existing markets Market development of existing products into new markets New product development introducing new products into new markets Diversification new products into new markets Strategic Option 1 (Market penetration of existing products) is recommended with details as follows: Maintain and sustain competitive advantage in the DE markets where which is expected to continue to grow Focus on enhancing brand awareness in the developed markets like the UK Develop cross selling and other initiatives to increase usage by existing customers The rationale behind this strategy is that with such fierce competition, Unilevers rivals will unsurprisingly be doing all they can to increase their market share and that will include offering products at low prices. Unilever, by employing the market penetration strategy, will effectively be doing business as usual, while employing cost cutting measures designed to bolster profits. This strategy is less risky especially in an environment of a global economic downturn (Johnson Scholes, 2006). It is also recommended that the strategy be achieved through organic growth as opposed to other activities like mergers and acquisitions which have high potential for failure. In terms of competitive strategy, it is recommended that a combination of cost leadership and differentiation be employed. Although Porter argues for a single generic strategy (1998b), this is not always the best option because customers will require different thing from the same product. For example, for the success of the Lynx brand is because it combines low price with perceived coolness. This combined generic strategy has great chance of success as it enables Unilever to be price competitive while also using obtained brand loyalty to keep customers from rivals. Choosing the right strategy is important. However, more important is the successful achievement of the strategy. This will involve effective deployment of Unilevers resources (those used in the internal analysis above) to achieve set objectives. Communication is also key to ensure that those responsible for implementing the strategy buy into it sufficiently to be motivated enough to implement it successfully (Johnson Scholes, 2006). Finally, it is important that once implemented the strategy should be monitored regularly with a view of making changes or enhancing it as required to achieve set objectives.