The training and development of employees in William Hill Essay Example for Free

The training and development of employees in William Hill Essay Training is essential for both employees and employer if they want to be effective within the organisation and also for a company like William Hill to stay competitive within their market. The reason why training is important to employees is to enable them to achieve their maximum potential in their current position, it is needed also to develop them to create further opportunities within the organisation because employees are likely to be better educated and become multi-skilled. Training should be ongoing within William Hill in developing the employees skills within the business. William Hill believes training is very essential for their company especially when it proves for employees to develop within the organisation and continuing to meet objective. The training and development of employees in William Hill is imperative for the performance or the company as they are in a competitive market. William Hill has to inform workers to be aware of surroundings in the area that they work. The main types of training which businesses are using are Induction, on and off the job training and induction because they are successful in degree of the work format in different organisations needs. Training firstly takes place with induction in William Hill plc to enable new employees settle in quickly and feel comfortable to stay within their organisation. Induction programmes are not usually about a specific job the employee will be doing, but the way in which the business works. Then they have off and on the job training, which takes place in different methods. Induction This is the training provided for new employees and in this program they will learn the following: * Where everything around the workplace is such as the essentials which are fire exits, toilets, staff canteen, basically they will get a guided tour of their place of work. * They will go through the employees hour of work, who their manager is, name tags, uniform and training which will be provided for them in the future. * Booklets will handed out concerning sickness procedures, perks, grievance procedures, health and safety regulations and William Hills mission statement. All new recruits are taken through induction program at William Hill which is designs to give employees a broad understanding of the business indifferent contexts because it is a way in which William Hill can communicate and develop a relationship with employees and ditto with customers. This also ensures customer care due to its importance it will enable William Hill to keep their customers loyal. A booklet named You and William Hill is an outline of what expected of each employee and information concerning your uniform which is either a black or navy blue trousers or skirt and a white shirt/top with a William scarf and name tag. Mentoring Mentoring involves the trainee being paired with more experienced employee. This is a good way to train employees as they are able to carry out the tasks that they would be performing if they were really doing the job. The mentor is there to assist the employee if they have any problems. William Hill can implement this type of training as a means for the employ that feel less confident within the workplace to gain a higher self esteem level. Having someone they feel comfortable with would make them work better and they can adapt interactive skills with that person, enabling them to use it on others. William Hill would be encouraging a more cohesive environment if this was one of their training methods. Coaching Coaching is a planned process requiring time and resources, and will be more effective if the coaching manager is trained in coaching techniques and committed to the approach. A coach may guide a trainee through procedures that they may carry out in the future. Sitting next to Nellie is a traditional type of on the job training. Nellie is the experienced worker there to guide you along your way. However this may cause complications for the company as the quality of the training depends on the ability of the trainer. William Hill could use this as they could teach employees about what goes on in the business. Its a lot easier for the employee to ask questions about things that they may feel they dont understand and have them answered there and then. Also being able to have areas demonstrated in a practical format would benefit the employee. Apprenticeships Apprenticeships provide people with broad based training along along with key skills. After they complete the course they graduate and become an employee. They aim to give a number of people undergoing training who achieve NVQs of at least level 3 for technical, craft and junior management skills. In my opinion William Hill Smith might not use this as they would probably just have part time workers, e.g. students wanting part time jobs in summer. On the job On the job training is done within the premises. Some jobs require no experience so the training will be done on arrival. This is appropriate in areas like Shop floor workers learning how to use the till, or a new clerical assistant will need to understand the filing system. William Hill will use this as they could train new employees how to interact with others. Shop floor workers can see first hand how workers that are more experienced than them handle customers, whethwer theyre nice or difficuit. Off the job training Off the job training is done off the premises. This may take place in another branch or as a college course. This is done to widen the employees skills and develop the ability that the individuals already have. Depending on the position that the employee has William Hill can send the worker on a course to develop his/her skills. Managerial positions may require this as their role is much more intense, e.g. dealing with employees or customers that may not be happy with the performance of employees. Transferable skills Transferable skills are skills that once they are learnt they can be used in many situations. Key skills of Application of Number, Communication, and Information Technology are used to develop a technique you already have. William Hill use this as it would be appropriate in their type of industry. The development of the skill that the employees possess would be needed if they were to move to another company for employment. Granted that all the skills cant be used within all industries within the same field the basic knowing of what to do in a certain predicament would be needed by the employee. William Hill providing this for them would improve their imge. Non Transferable skills These skills are specific to the job at hand. The skills you learn can only be used in a particular situation. William Hill wouldnt use this as the workers can become more productive if they learn different skills. Rotating them around would motivate them to help others and if they are to be relocated into another branch then they wouldnt need to adapt very much to they way of working. GNVQS GNVQS are a work related alternative to GCSE and A Level. This is basically the digestion of knowledge of what some companies may do. The aim is to provide education to students that want to enter a particular area of work. To progress from this area would be to move into work where an NVQ may be taken, or to move to another level (e.g.) level 2 to level 3 or level 3 to higher education (university). William Hill doesnt use this as training as the company isnt in this type of industry. If they chose to send their employees off the job for training, in a college they may prepare the employees for the basic knowledge they would need. Development This is enable individuals within William Hill to realise their potential for growth in the organisation. There are many ways you can measure individuals potential, such as appraisal, an analysis of employees performance or a system of assessment centres. There are also many ways an employee can be rewarded for their potential, such as promotion, job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment. William Hill offer all staff all the opportunity to develop themselves, that is why if one has the ability can progress to management level and then given the opportunity will have to go through management induction program, this will aid William Hill as workers will be more motivated as they will gain a sense of achievement which leads to greater employee retention. Training is very important for William Hill as well staff because well trained workers will be more productive and this will enable the company to meet objectives set which will increase profit. This is also good for employees especially concerning performance relate pay because a higher dividend is given. It will help save cost as there will be less waste due to fewer mistakes made also the corporate image will be enhanced because the work force are better skilled and motivated. Training and Development can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty indirectly as work will be done more efficiently and they will be more motivation to keep customers happy also it can make William Hill more competitive as they will be performing better at work.

Whole Foods Ratio Essay Example for Free

Whole Foods Ratio Essay Kroger and Whole Foods are the two giants in the grocery industry; however, their capital structure and financial measures paint vastly different pictures. The liquidity ratios, which measure short term solvency of the company, were calculated for both companies. The current ratio for Kroger was calculated to be .76 compared to a current ratio for Whole Foods of 1.60. At a glance, Whole Foods is more able to pay their short term debt obligations compared to Kroger. In the same vein, Whole Foods has a much higher quick ratio at 1. 20 compared to .25 for Kroger. The capital structure of the two companies is the main reason for the distinct differences in the liquidity ratios. Kroger has financed the company’s expansions with debt; whereas, Whole Foods has financed their expansions with equity. One of the reasons why Whole Foods’ quick ratio is higher than Kroger’s quick ratio is due to inventory management. Whole Foods is an industry leader at inventory management. Whole Foods inventory consists of two-thirds perishable foods, which requires management to have outstanding inventory management to be profitable. Due to the outstanding inventory management of Whole Foods, the quick ratio for the company is higher compared to the much larger Kroger. Activity ratios are a measure of a company’s asset management. When comparing Kroger to Whole Foods, Kroger has a higher total asset turnover and fixed asset turnover compared to Whole Foods. In fact, Kroger is the industry leader in asset turnover consistently having the highest asset turnover ratios in the industry. The reason for Kroger’s high asset management ratios for total asset turnover and fixed asset turnover is due to sales. Sales are calculated into each ratio. By generating massive sales, Kroger is able to complete with slim profit margins due to exploiting economies of scale. Whole Foods dominates Kroger with two of the activity ratios: inventory turnover and days sales in inventory. Inventory turnover for Whole Foods is 19.84 times per year compared to 14.45 times per year for Kroger. Days sales in inventory for Whole Foods is 18.39 compared to 25.24 for Kroger. The catalyst for Whole Foods superior performance in inventory turnover and days sales in inventory is due to three reasons: efficient inventory management, high traffic in stores, and the nature of the organic market. Due to the nature of the organic market, Whole Foods has had to become extremely efficient as inventory management. The organic market is characterized by: fresh fruits and vegetables, inventory mix that is more perishable than traditional grocery stores, and shorter shelf life of products. Because the organic market is dominated by fresh foods as opposed to pre-packaged foods, Whole Foods customers are more likely to visit the grocery store multiple times per week compared to Kroger customers. Due to this, Whole Foods is more able to control inventory and generate higher inventory turnover compared to Kroger. An analysis of the leverage ratios of Whole Foods and Kroger illustrates the impact of a company’s capital structure on leverage ratios. Whole Foods had a lower Debt Ratio (.282), Long Term Debt Ratio (.0147) and Long-term Debt to Equity Ratio (.01) compared to Kroger, which had a Debt Ratio of .83, Long Term Debt Ratio of .41, and Long-term Deb to Equity Ratio of .01. The reason for Whole Foods having substantially lower leverage ratios is due to the capital structure of Whole Foods. Whole Foods capital structure consists of little to no debt. At the present time, Whole Foods’ capital structure is made up of 99.3% equity and .7% debt. In contrast, Kroger’s capital structure consists of 57.3% debt and 42.7% equity. By having little to no debt, Whole Foods is able to maintain lower leverage ratio numbers compared to Kroger, which is more dependent on debt to fund expansion. The corporate strategies of Whole Foods and Kroger make a tremendous impact on the profitability ratios. Whole Foods strategy involves opening high-end grocery stores in upscale locations, offering organics foods and specialty items, providing a more enjoyable shopping experience for shoppers, and selling more expensive grocery items than traditional grocery stores. By comparison, Kroger’s strategy is to offer price reduction on grocery items, compete based on price which reduces profit margins, and offer a high-end shopping experience with low prices on staples. Due to the strategies of both companies, the profitability ratios are affected. By competing on price, Kroger has lower net income and higher sales. Lower net income and higher sales shrinks profit margins and gross margins. On the other hand, Whole Foods specialty food items are priced at a premium; therefore, net income is larger compared to sales. A larger net income results in a higher profit margin and higher gross margin. The corporate capital structure factors into two of the profitability ratios for Whole Foods and Kroger. Due to having a capital structure that is essentially all equity, Whole Foods has much lower return on equity than Kroger, which has a capital structure that is a mixture of debt and equity. The diversified capital structure of Kroger accounts for the higher Return on Equity compared to Whole Foods. The Return on Invested Capital is the same for Whole Foods and Kroger at 13% for each company. The Return on Invested Capital takes into consideration both debt and equity, which allows for a more accurate comparison of the two companies. Many of the ratios for Whole Foods and Kroger have been affected by the capital structure of the two companies. By taking into consideration by side of the capital structure, debt and equity, the two companies have a return on invested capital that is essentially the same.

The Value Of Marks And Spencers

The Value Of Marks And Spencers Marks and Spencer the giant in UKs high street history started its journey in 1884 which leads the retailers in Uk who has the number of visiting customers over 21 million per week with over 70,000 employees working in around 900 stores all over the world with 600 stores in uk and above 300 in over 40 countries ( Marks and Spencer , 2010) since the origination of marks and spencers had grown as a global retailer and increased its strength to strength by increasing the stores all over , and getting closer to the customers , since 1920, Marks and Spencers has bought its goods directly through the manufacturer using the trademark name as StMichael and became a public company in 1926 with its first store opening in 1930 in London , from then the organisation has grown step by step fulfilling the needs of public, From then MS has become the Brittans leading organisation providing wide range of products and services to the customers worldwide. Marks Spencers has wide range of products li ke clothing,footwear,gifts,bakery,houseappliances,electricals etc.Where 17% of the clothing market in Uk is in hold of Marks and Spencers .Softgoods such as clothing and household appliances account about 58% of the companys sales and almost 42% of the sales come from Food and Wine .The reputation of marks and spencers increased day by day due to its customer friendly techniques.The goods that are sold by marks spencers have excellent value and quality which increased the reputation and brand value which made Marks and Spencers as the best retailer in Uk. The headoffice of Marks and Spencers is located in Paddington station, London, UK. The Marks and Spencers store that is located in Marble Arch, London holds the Guinness record for having the highest revenue per square foot considering any stores all over the world. Britain called as home of shopkeepers and for sure Marks and Spencer can be called as the leader of the shop keepers in UK. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This research is aimed to show how Marks and Spencers could be by 2030, and what are the strategies Marks and Spencers need to follow to attain a sustainable position in the market and the ways it need to save its reputation , and the role of Human recourses Management for the sustainable growth . This researchs objective is to interlink the role of HRM and Scenario Planning on Marks and Spencers and show the picture how Marks and Spencers would grow when both scenario planning and HRM work effectively, and even to show the other side of Marks and Spencers by 2030 when the management doesnt have a specific strategy with a normal team of HRM. This research even shows how marks and Spencers can increase its range in different business fields in different countries, and how it can be the leading shopkeeper in the world by 2030. LITERATURE REVIEW: Scenario planning is defined by many authors in different ways, Ringland defined scenario planning as the part of strategy planning that relates to tools and technologies for managing the uncertainties of the future (Ringland, 1998) Scenario planning is defined by Schwartz as tool for ordering ones perceptions about alternative future environments in which ones decision might be played out- (Schwartz,1991). According to shoemaker (1995), scenario planning is a disciplined process for imaging good future in which organisations outcome is calculated. Scenario planning for the years has been proven that the technique to overcome the uncertainties and identifying the critical future and investing the loop holes in the organisation-(Kahane, 1999). The changes in the environment and the financial crisis may lead to degrade the market situation. Fleming believes that this type of situation cannot be overcome easily and the public policy should concentrate on transformation of the political economy- (David Fleming, 2001). According to Deming, a change is necessary when the economy is in a down-hill-slide and he even argued that we can elevate our economy with specialized services and products. This change will require knowledge .in other words, our problem is education and development of a culture that puts value on learning (Deming, 1994). According to Edgar da Cruz Souto Gomes, modern companies pay attention towards their human resources. The one who is able to enable them, coordinate them and take in to their expectations are able to gain market share. According to Thompson the main aim behind PEST analysis is generally economic conditions affect both on cost and demand even they effect on the success and profits-(Thompson, 2002) In an organisation such as Marks and Spencers training for the employees should be carried out in a highly specific way in such a situation the role of HRM is crucial. The designed programmes for the employees should be in such a way that it should satisfy both the organisation and the employees. According to McGhee and Thayer in 1961trainingmust be identified and performing different level of analysis such as organizational, operational and individual analysis. In training needs analysis (TNA) method and technique are often used in the journals by the authors such as Chiu, et al, 1999, Ford, 2002. According to R.R.Yeleti manager in Marks and Spencer the Human Resources was well established and the way it approaches is simple as the role of line manager to customer service assistant is to improve the quality of Marks and Spencer. And for the growth of the organisation Marks and Spencer need to follow SMART. In general SMART is used as the goal setting tool for the organisation. And R.R.Yeleti also discussed about Plan-Do-Review-Revise which is being followed by the organisation. According to him it is a tool that can be used in many ways and in many situations for setting a plan for the implementation of project and process of simplifying the problems. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1) What are the scenarios that Marks and Spencer need to follow by 2030 to attain a sustainable position? 2) What is the role of HRM in Marks and Spencer for the growth of the organisation by 2030? SMART: the goal setting tool for Marks and Spencer. Goal setting of Marks and Spencer is achievable only when they had the vision. The research analyses the need for developing its HR team by 2030 and developing some strategies for overcoming the competition which they are facing now and the need for changing its brand value which willt be goals for the organisation. Some areas where Marks and Spencer need to consider before setting the goals FROM THE MARKS AND SPENCER PRESPECTIVE: Explore what you need to set as target through the heart of Marks and Spencer keeping in mind the trusted customer base. How to function the leadership? The line managers and senior managers should have discussions on the needs that they are to be achieved? Need to maintain the database regarding the feedback from the customers and even from the staff regarding the performance measurement. Direct and indirect feedback within Marks and Spencer What is the best way to demonstrate and add value to the organisation? PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS WITHIN MARKS AND SPENCER Considering the past feedback from colleagues and other databases which will give a chance to look the future. Marks and Spencer need to review on own strengths and areas of development. Marks and Spencer need to finalise the results for various questionnaires and what does the results show? What feedback did Marks and Spenser receive from its suppliers regarding its retail business and what are the ways it can develop. PLAN TO ACHIEVE THE TARGETS: Considering the targets and after setting new goals then Marks and Spencer need to put up a plan together by the management. I recommend the following goal setting plans in this research. Make a detailed Plan: For achieving the goal the process should not slip or advance from the time limit. Marks and Spencer should tell its customers only when they are sure that they can help to achieve the goal. Dead Line: Marks and Spenser should have a dead line to track the status for example if they had a goal of opening 100 new stores all over the world they should have a dead line for achieving that, the dead line should particularly specify the year when Marks and Spencer are going to achieve the target so that they will be able to track the path they are in. Visualise the goal: Marks and Spencer should visualise the goal as if they are creating the future history. Marks and Spencer should be able to feel the change they are going to show in the future to the public so that the target can be achieved easily. Marks and Spenser should be able to feel and sense the taste, smell and should be able to experience the outcome. Direct / Indirect support: Marks and Spencer should be able to keep a note of people or groups who could support Marks and Spencer to achieve the goal. What does the supporter need from the organisation to support Marks and Spencer? The supporters might be supporting the organisation directly or indirectly. And the organisation should be able to help the supporters which will indirectly help Marks and Spencer. Overcoming Obstacles: Even they follow the actions according to fixed targets and goals they may have some obstacles such as political and economical issues. To overcome such obstacles Marks and Spencer should be able to face with a never give up attitude which will make the organisations dreams come true PLANS DO REVIEW REVISE IMPROVE (PDRRI): The plan do review revise improve is generally opted by the organisations for the continuous development. Marks and Spencers can use this tool in creating a path to fulfil the goals. Planning a project by Marks and Spencer Reviewing the effectiveness during the implementation and completion Revising the adopted changes Making changes to improve The success of the assigned goal of Marks and Spencer come true only when the staff feel responsible for the implementation with a plan , making use of the direct and indirect help from the stake holders in all stages to improve the quality. PLAN: Marks and Spencers should be clear about the plan DO: Implementing the strategic planning for carrying out the plan REVIEW: Marks and Spencer should be able to draw the conclusion from the implementation of strategic planning IMPROVE: How can Marks and Spencer improve? Improving the assigned plans for the better outcome. A goal without any specific plan just remains as goal .Marks and Spencer has vision , intentions, ideas, dreams which will make the goals come true by 2030 if they are SMART. SMART is in general Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. SPECIFIC: A specific goal has a much difference when compared to a general goal, a general goal for Marks and Spencer would be internalization. A specific goal would be different from internalization and the specific goal would say setting up a team to calculate the business levels in particular countries where the business is planned. MEASURABLE: Marks and Spencer need to concentrate on measuring the progress towards attaining the goal , Marks and Spencer need to measure the progress, whether they are on track, and reaching the target dates, and experience the effort to reach the organisations goal, and asking questions themselves such as how much? How many? ACHIEVABLE: It is important to Marks and Spencer to ensure that the goal they set is achievable not impossible. It would be a wrong assumption if they set a goal to attain profits of 50% in a recession which is impossible .instead they can have achievable goals such as market segmentation expanding the market opening new stores and being a tough competitor to its competitors. REALISTIC: Marks and Spencer should be realistic in the goal they choose and they should be able to represent their goal in highly realistic way that it is achievable and they would be only one who can decide whether the goal they set is high, realistic and achievable. TIME BOUND: Marks and Spencer goals should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame there is no sense of urgency. If Marks and Spencer has a goal of opening 100 new stores, when do Marks and Spenser want to open new stores by? In next 10 years wont work. But if you have a time frame that is by 2030. Then it is clear that Marks and Spencer set a clear time bound which will start to work on the goal. S W O T ANALYSIS: SWOT analysis shows the internal business in terms of strengths and weakness of an organisation, opportunities and threats of the external business. SWOT analysis is meant to spark the strategic ray and to calculate the facts and figures which help for the strategic planning (Mintzberg 1994).This research shows the SWOT analysis of the Marks and Spencers to analyze the current situation and to implement the strategies to give a tough competition to its competitors by 2030. STRENGTHS: Marks and Spencer has many strengths but this research focuses mainly on the brand value of the organisation and wide range of products and different outlets which help to grow the business and the range it delivered to the public. High recognition of the brand: Marks and Spencers is the giant of the UKs high street is known by everyone in the market for the quality it is providing in the past years. The brand value is high as the customers who go to the high street prefer to go to Marks and Spencers as they can finish the whole shopping in a go. Wide variety of products: Marks and Spencers had a variety of products in every store which helps the customers to choose the best, for example if we take vegetables , Marks and Spencers began to sell the vegetables and fruits over 40 years ago, they started selling fruits and vegetables such as Canary tomatoes , avocados and English apples , carrots . and Marks and spencers always relied on the farmers with good relationship from where they are able to increase the variety of products. Back in 1970s Marks and Spencers persuaded small growers of strawberries to drive their crop straight to local marks and Spencers stores. To find the perfect taste of the customers Marks and Spencers spend more than three years on testing and tasting the strawberries before launching marks and Spencers jubilee Strawberry in summer 2003. At the moment Marks and Spencers has more than 1200 suppliers with over 400 different varieties, as well as 500 different types of pre prepared fruits, vegetables and salads.( Marks and Spencer 2010) Where the other super markets fail to produce wide variety of products , which indirectly helps Marks and Spencers . Large number of stores and outlets: Marks and Spencer the giant in the uks high street history has about 900 stores all over the world with 600 stores in the Uk and above 300 in over 40 countries (Marks and Spencer, 2010). The numbers clearly say that large number of stores and outlets make the business wider and the sales even increase due to the wide range of products that Marks and Spencer has. If the stores and outlets increases the strength of Marks and Spencer goes high day by day, as it can be available to all the commodities of the people for reasonable cost and good quality. Popular designer brands: Marks and Spencer has wide range of brands which really help the organisation. For example mens wear has wide range of brands such as autograph, Bigtall, Blue harbour, Collezione, North coast etc (Marks and Spencer, 2010). Coming to women brands Marks and Spencer has different brands such as Autograph, Classic, Indigo collection, Limited collection, Per Una, Portfolio, etc( marks and Spencer 2010). Due to the wide range of brands the business of the organisation goes strength by strength WEAKNESS: Marks and Spencer even had some weakness as the other organisations had; this research mainly focuses on weaknesses of Marks and Spencer and the strategies the organisation need to follow to overcome the situation. Bad publicity as non trendy store: Marks and Spencer has a draw back in the market as the organisation is out fashioned and non trendy. Even though Marks and Spencer has wide range of products and different brands the general people has a wrong assumption that mens wear and womens wear are only for the aged people not for the teenagers and young people. These wrong assumptions are making the business low. The management should develop new strategies to focus on the sales for the young people. Even the management failed in the past years to attract the new customers, the people who had trust on Marks and Spencer from the past years still shop but the new generations are not at all interested. Some people say that Marks and Spencer is a shop for sixties and seventies but not for twenties and thirties. To overcome this management of Marks and Spencers need to come with a new strategy to attract all the age limits not losing its reputation with the present followers and they even need to develop a strategy to overcome from the bad publicity and to give great competition to its competitors such as Primark, Next, River island, oasis, Oxygen, New look, HM etc. Manual working increases the costs: Marks and Spencers had a backdrop of following old techniques rather than following the new techniques which increase the different aspects such as money, time etc. But in general the big organisations are keeping a focus on the new technologies for the efficiency of the work done. Now a days the organisations are preferring for both mechanized and automated material handling alternatives for various types of logistic operations. Most of these technologies help to increase the productivity in less span of time but the main drawback of Marks and Spencer is not utilising the technology for effective use the manual work increases the cost and reduces the work efficiency it is recommended to Marks and Spencer to use the new techniques instead of increasing the manual hours and manual costs for trading. Its just matter of time and planning to overcome this obstacle. There is no doubt that manual working increases cost. OPPORTUNITIES: INTERNALIZATION-increasing the global presence: Marks and Spencer was stabilized in UK and even it started number of stores all over the world in the 1940s.the company started trading most of its services using St.Michael brands. Using St.Michael brand the company started exported about $1,146,000 worth of merchandise. Marks and Spencers early internalisation was mostly due to domestic factors. After some dramatic changes it is clear that the expansion of the market have to come from the overseas. Labour party members were suggesting nationalising for the leading domestic retailers ( De Nardicole 1998). Internationalization was therefore seen as a tool that diverts everything from the market on the local basis. Due to the export business only few international franchising relationships are made. Importers of the St. Michael brand , who were familiar with the success of the brand in their countries started investing in the business of Marks and Spencer . In the early 90s St Michael fr anchises were operating a good business in 14 different economies. By 1996 Marks and Spencers has 645 outlets worldwide, among these 645 outlets 58% of the shares were in UK, Europe and Canada.(De Nardi-cole 1998) . The picture has changed since then at the moment Marks and Spencer has about 70,000 employees in 900 stores all over the world with above 300 stores worldwide and 600 stores in the UK. Marks and Spencer has above 21 million visiting customers per week (Marks and Spencer, 2010). In general Retailers take relatively less risk to enter the global market, Instead they start exporting and franchising their products globally. Marks and Spencer did the same thing back in 1950s but due to the significant raise in the demand by the consumers marks and Spencer can go ahead by increasing globally as it has significant purchasing power. Marks and Spencer can utilize various types of modes of entry around the world. Marks and Spencer can open its own stores around the world or throug h expanding the business through franchise agreements. Marks and Spencer has its own stores in Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, Hong-Kong, Ireland, Spain and Netherlands. Marks and Spencer have the Franchise agreement with developing countries such as Bermuda, Canary Islands, The Bahamas, The Czech republic and Israel (De Naridi cole , 1998) the company started franchising in the countries who have smaller per capita income . Marks and Spencer started growing in south Asia from 2000 . Marks and Spencer had a franchise deal with a company called planet sport. According to the market basis it started the clothing and bath items only, the franchise owner VP.Sharma said to BBC that most of the goods in India are imported from Europe so The brand name of Marks and Spencer would help the business to grow rapidly. It is a good idea to increase the Franchise as Marks and Spencer has a good reputation all over the world and it origins from the land of costly brands. By taking Planet Sport a s example Marks and Spencers has the chance of growing globally as it is recognised globally, The management need to take necessary steps to increase globally keeping in mind all the factors . The chance of growing increases only when Marks and Spencers is activated globally. A specific strategy need to be implemented by the management for the raise in the branches all over the world which will be a good sign for the organisation. MARKET SEGMENTATION: Market Segmentation is defined as the process of splitting customers in a market into different groups within which customers share similar level of interests in the same or comparable set of needs satisfied by a distinct marketing proposition. Marks and Spencer has the opportunity to increase the technique of market segmentation by increasing its branches all over the places which will increase the business, in general marks and Spencer mainly have the mega stores all over the places but they dint concentrate on splitting the customers according to the area of interest. Sainsbury on other hand divided the customers by opening new stores called Sainsbury Locals which increased the business. In the same way Marks and Spencer has the opportunity by dividing the customers by establishing small shops which will reduce the maintenance cost and increase the profits as the manual power will gradually decrease when compared to mega stores and even the investment on the p ublicity will be less , keeping in mind all the features it has the opportunity of spreading the business by market segmentation. THREATS: Increased competition in all areas of business: Marks and Spencer has the threat of losing its scope in the business due to the competition, the increased competition in the retailer sector is a big worry as the other retail competitors such as Asda, Sainsbury and Tesco are expanding themselves such as Sainsburys local and Tesco Express where as Marks and Spencer is still relaying on the mega stores, if the same thing goes on there is a risk of losing its reputation among the customers so it is recommended to increase the stores where they can increase the profits so the Management need to come with a new scenario to develop the risk management by increasing the stores. Marks and Spencer need to come with a strategy to overcome all the obstacles PEST ANALYSIS: PEST analysis can be defined as the Political, Environmental, Social and Technological analysis that describes the frame work of the macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning components of strategic management(Brenner ,1998). Figure http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-pest-analysis-image14771406 SCENARIO PLANNING: As the world progresses further into developing stage, organisations are looking for different types of new techniques which would drive the organisation; uncertainty is becoming a factor to concentrate on for the business leaders. The changes are external to the organisation but to overcome these uncertainties there should be designed solution assuming the future. The well known technique for overcoming uncertainties is strategic planning; the strategy planning alone cannot overcome Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors. Another school of strategy planning has emerged as scenario planning. Rather than predicting the future scenario planning gives the different type of stories that organisation need to follow in the critical situation. It is clear that the participation in scenario planning can have direct impact on business and the decision making techniques are directly related to the business results (Schwartz, 1991). Scenario planning was first developed by RAND corporation in the early 1940s by Kahn and he titled it as Future-now (Kahn, 1940). The intent of this approach was to produce a script which would analyze the future and produce the report regarding the business by the business professionals. Around in 1960s Kahn adopted a name called scenario 1. Lean Economy 2. Political nightmare 3. Marks and Spencer forms as a conglomerate ( low competition and trend changes in the environment) 4. High competition and trend changes 5. Hr to Hr.2 for Marks and Spencer LEAN ECONOMY: Expected global recession to hit UK in 2030 If this situation occurs Marks and Spencers should be Developing the funds necessary to overcome the situation Having a focused team with knowledge on political issues Marks and Spencers should be active politically for best result to know the policies of the government which are going to be affecting the retailers. If the recession by 2030 occurs Marks and Spencers should be able to Compare the market situation and try to be cheaper than its competitors such as Primark, Next, Oasis in the clothing segment and retailers such as Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda etc. UK: 2030, if X party which does not support the retailers is in power and if there is another recession hits UK. The X government does not have any interest to support the retailers. The X party dont have any idea of injecting money into the market even the situation is so tight which will make the situation too worse , Marks and Spencer wont be in a situation to help itself from the crisis even the organisation will find difficult to run the business effectively. Even in this situation Marks and Spencer dont want to lose its reputation in the market by showing the situation to employees and the customers. POLITICAL NIGHTMARE: Uk:2030 expected change in the politicians policies towards the retailers which make the business sink If this change occurs Marks and Spencer need to focus on the political issues Role of HRM should be active in Marks and Spencer to overcome the critical situation Marks and Spencer should be able to Change the policies according to the political issues Marks and Spencer would be comfortable with the situation only when the organisation had a specific planning. MARKS AND SPENCER FORMS AS A CONGLOMERATE (LOW COMPETITION AND TREND CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT) Expected that the situation in the global market changed by 2030 and there is low competition and also trend changes in the environment then Marks and Spencers need to follow different approach to the customers. If the situation goes then Marks and Spencer should focus on how to get closer to the customers and to retain the customers by offering incentives to remain with them. Due to the low competition Marks and Spencer can opt to spend more on Loyalty schemes rather than investing the money on advertising. Marks and Spencer need to look for cost saving techniques and then pass the savings for the lower prices to the customers. Marks and Spencer should merge as a conglomerate because of the potential benefits that might be provided to the organisation. Due to the less flow of the money in the market customers and business people show the value for money Keeping in mind the present situation Marks and Spencer could form as conglomerate will lead the business of Marks and Spencer remain both profitable and efficient. Marks and Spencer should concentrate on buying the shares of the smaller businesses who are facing tougher financial stages due to the present situation, as Marks and Spencers would be capable of investing their business under the franchise would be even helpful as they can expand the business even in tougher situation like this. MARKS AND SPENCER WITH DYNAMIC APPROACH (HIGH COMPETITION AND TREND CHANGES IN A GOOD ECONOMY): If this is the situation by 2030 consumers are with high income and they prefer to have better services rather than a normal service. Marks and Spencer should be in a situation to implement new technology for the fast growing customer needs. Marks and Spencers should be able to research its competitors potential at home and abroad, and it should be able to turn the customers to its side with dynamic approach as there is a chance of high competition and trend changes in a good economy. Marks and Spencers should have the ability to purchase the products due to high demand of products as consumers demand for the innovative technologies. Marks and Spencers is in a situation where there is high competition and tremendous changes in the trend in a good economy by 2030, the organisation should be able to have the purchasing power for the innovative technologies which will help the organisation to attract new customers with high potential so that the sales increase gradually even the competition in the market is high. Marks and Spencers should even concentrate on internalization as the economy is expected to be in raise which will increase the consumers needs , Marks and Spencers even need to have a check on its own potential with its competitors due to high competition. HRM SCENARIO: HR to HR 2.0 Expect the need. Strong work force planning must be conducted. Specify the job. Make sure that right job is assigned for the right employee; jobs must be built around the people. Developing the pool Concentrate on choosing the right assessors than concentrating on the assessment technique. Measure the candidates. Receiving the new comer. Helping him to acquire the organisation culture. Examine and review. MS should be able to foresee the need of recruiting the staff for some special occasions like Christmas and New Year. As the flow of customers will be high on these occasions, more employees must be recruited. To control the situations, MS should have a strong work force planning. The right job must be assigned to the right employees to achieve the best outputs. If the HR department fails to assign the right jobs, it will be of no use even if they best employees. The jobs must be built around the employees. It is very much important to develop the pool to easily filter the better workforce. The HR department should concentrate on choosing the best assessors rather than concentrating on the techniques they use to assess the employees. If they can assess the employees, then they

Training the Parent for Sport Essay -- Sports Athletics Parenting Essa

Training the Parent for Sport Imagine a beautiful spring afternoon at a community soccer match for young children in the area. The game begins with an enjoyable and exciting atmosphere. The kids are running their hearts out chasing down the ball and the parents watching seem so incredibly proud of their little Johnny or little Suzy. Everyone seems to be having fun. Then, simply be accident, one of the players trips and falls on the field. He or she gets up unhurt but the player’s parent is sent into a torrent yelling and screaming that their child’s fall was a result of foul play. The parent becomes louder and when the coach tries to calm the parent down, the parent throws a punch at the coach. A fight ensues, the game is halted, and everyone goes home disappointed and discouraged by the day’s events. As coaches I realize many of you may not have seen with your own eyes a parent’s obnoxious behavior escalate to such irrational violence, but you have seen disruptive and rude behavior in parents attending your games. This is a serious problem and is becoming more and more prevalent. While there are no official statistics on the amount of violence involving parents at youth sporting events, the examples are numerous. A Sarasota father was arrested after storming the field and punching the referee during his son’s flag football game (Elvin 3). Other incidents reported last year include â€Å"a soccer mother in Greensboro, NC was charged with assault after hitting a referee after a game. A father in Cleveland punched a 15-year-old boy during a soccer game because he felt the player had pushed his son† (Stewart 1) and, probably the most familiar case, Thomas Junta was charged with manslaughter af... ...al behavior. This training class is the best possible way to fix this problem. Sports are supposed to encompass learning to work together as a team, sportsmanship, and trying your hardest, not the pressure that an obnoxious parent can put on a game. Engh highlights the importance of the training program so as to â€Å"ensure that all children have fun and rewarding experiences. After all, that’s what sports are all about!† (Sachs 3). Works Cited Elvin, John. â€Å"New Penalties for Being a Bad Sport.† Insight on the News . V17 (April 23, 2002): 35. Robinson, Bryan. â€Å"More Lessons Needed.† ABCNews.com. http://abcnews.go.com/ Sections/us/DailyNews/sportsviolence020114.html . (February 17, 2002). Sachs, Michael L. â€Å"Lighten up, Parents!† USA Today . Nov. 2000: 62. Stewart, Mark. â€Å"Good Sports?† Insight on the News . V16 (June 19, 2000): 28.

Alaska Drillings :: essays papers

Alaska Drillings Drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic Wildlife refuge will not solve our nation’s energy crisis, but it will destroy one of the worlds most unique animal habitats. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would satisfy only six months' worth of the nation's oil needs while oil drilling would "destroy" a wilderness that is home to the 150,000 animals of the Porcupine animal group. Our nations natural refuges should not be turned to destruction when a solution to a problem can be found else where. In addition to not being economically productive, drilling for oil will do nothing to help energy shortages experienced throughout the United States, while still destroying one of the only habitats of its kind in the world. Despite common thought, the Alaskan refuge is not a snow covered desert. It is important to what exactly would be destroyed if the United States decides to drill for oil. The Arctic Refuge is among the most complete and undisturbed ecosystems on earth. The Arctic Refuge contains an impressive variety of arctic wildlife. The rich variety of wildlife found within the Refuge includes more than 160 bird species, 36 kinds of land mammals, 9 marine mammal species, and 36 types of fish. The reality is that opening the Arctic refuge to drilling will accomplish little except destroying one of the last pure preserves of its kind in the world. Another reason why it would be unwise to drill is because it is just not cost efficient. For the oil industry to invest, the Refuge must hold a lot of oil, and the oil must sell for a high enough price for long enough to recover costs and earn profits. We need to think of a solution that will affect us today and will alleviate our problems. In exchange for this short-term return, we would have to pay a very high long-term price, threatening one of the planet's most unique animal and plant habitats. Scientific analyses by the US Fish & Wildlife Service have concluded that drilling would severely harm the refuge's abundant populations of caribou, polar bears, musk oxen, and snow geese. Alaska Drillings :: essays papers Alaska Drillings Drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic Wildlife refuge will not solve our nation’s energy crisis, but it will destroy one of the worlds most unique animal habitats. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would satisfy only six months' worth of the nation's oil needs while oil drilling would "destroy" a wilderness that is home to the 150,000 animals of the Porcupine animal group. Our nations natural refuges should not be turned to destruction when a solution to a problem can be found else where. In addition to not being economically productive, drilling for oil will do nothing to help energy shortages experienced throughout the United States, while still destroying one of the only habitats of its kind in the world. Despite common thought, the Alaskan refuge is not a snow covered desert. It is important to what exactly would be destroyed if the United States decides to drill for oil. The Arctic Refuge is among the most complete and undisturbed ecosystems on earth. The Arctic Refuge contains an impressive variety of arctic wildlife. The rich variety of wildlife found within the Refuge includes more than 160 bird species, 36 kinds of land mammals, 9 marine mammal species, and 36 types of fish. The reality is that opening the Arctic refuge to drilling will accomplish little except destroying one of the last pure preserves of its kind in the world. Another reason why it would be unwise to drill is because it is just not cost efficient. For the oil industry to invest, the Refuge must hold a lot of oil, and the oil must sell for a high enough price for long enough to recover costs and earn profits. We need to think of a solution that will affect us today and will alleviate our problems. In exchange for this short-term return, we would have to pay a very high long-term price, threatening one of the planet's most unique animal and plant habitats. Scientific analyses by the US Fish & Wildlife Service have concluded that drilling would severely harm the refuge's abundant populations of caribou, polar bears, musk oxen, and snow geese.

Strindbergs The Stronger Essay -- Strindberg Stronger Essays

Strindberg's "The Stronger" In 'The Stronger' Strindberg focuses upon the role and importance of women at the turn of the 20th century. This is portrayed through a conversation of two women who have different lives and social statuses. Mrs. X is married and therefore socially stronger. Miss Y is unmarried and rather poignantly, doesn't speak. At the turn of the 20th century, women were seen as 2nd class citizens to men. However, this entire play is set in a women's cafà © where Strindberg's purpose is to allow the two characters to fully express their feelings rather than be influenced and controlled by men. Since the play focuses upon the role and importance of marriage and family, the setting of Christmas is significant. It reinforces Mrs. X's family values and the power it gives her over Miss Y However, later on in the play, the strength of constant silence by Miss Y proves more powerful than Mrs X's family values and the setting of Christmas is quite forgotten. Strindberg uses a title and single letter as names for the characters to emphasise the issue of marital status where the individuality of the two women isn't important. It is merely the title that defines the person. We recognise stage directions as defined actions, usually just before or after speech and sometimes during a characters line. They can be used to emphasise a characters speech or to illustrate a certain emotion. This may hint at or reveal a characters personality, where a certain movement may show strength or weakness, particularly important for Miss Y who expresses herself solely through actions and facial expressions. The stage directions in 'The stronger' tell the audience about how strong or weak a character is. For... ...e play, there are times when both characters are strong and weak. It is only at the end of the play where I feel that Mrs X's true strength is shown. She briefly concludes the argument and doesn't appear to have any hard feelings towards Miss Y. She even thanks her for the way she has influenced her family life. Mrs X represented the traditional women of Strindberg's time where her life revolved around her husband and family. This is completely the opposite for Miss Y who represented women wanting a change to the male-dominated world. She doesn't react to Mrs X's patronising speeches about family or children and remains calm. She is more interested in her paper than what Mrs X has to say. Above all, I conclude that Miss Y is 'the stronger'. This is because of her ability to not rise to Mrs X's 'bait'. She is strong in her silence and never retaliates.

Cognition domains Essay

Events that happen in an adolescent’s life can affect one of three domains; these three domains are known as ‘psychosocial’ ‘cognitive’ and ‘biophysical’. This essay will focus on the area of the cognition domain now this domain will be discussed in relation to an event that has affected my perception of the world around me, the way I feel in relation to blame and judgment and lastly the ability to learn how to be more reflective. My perception on life changed rapidly when I was informed of a tragic accident concerning the suicide of a family friend. This caused a rapid change in the way I thought about death, grief and sadness. â€Å"David Elkind proposed that formal operational thought also leads to adolescent egocentrism (difficulty differentiating one’s own thoughts and feelings)† (Sigelman, Rider, De George-Walker, Pg 173, 2013) This has impacted the way that I look at the world having gone through this experience I now see that people’s perception can change no matter what. I guess what’s trying to be said is that everyone’s perception is different and it is changing due to the experiences that we all encountering in our everyday lives. The judgment that came after the tragedy was phenomenal. Greg Newham will always be loved and greatly missed but never will he be forgotten. Was it my fault that he died? Greg Newham was a teacher. If I had visited him when the bell rang after school would he still be here today? I did not understand his wife’s decision to not let me go to the funeral. And because of this, because I never got to say my final goodbye it is hard to let go. Hard to move on. A book written by Temple University in the USA about seeking closure states â€Å"closure typically implies that something is finished, ended, closed. Finally you can move on† (2014). Without closure I feel that I am always judging myself. Always questioning my motives, wondering if I could have done more. The last aspect of cognitive development that was affected by this experience was learning. It is hard to live with the knowledge that someone’s death was your fault, even if rationally you know it wasn’t. Those left behind never usually learn the reasons as to why they harm themselves and those around them. Bronfenbrenner’s view of a developing person, with his or her  biological and psychological characteristics are embedded in a series of environmental systems which interact with each other and with the individual over time to influenced development. (Sigelman, Et.al, 2013), with all the developmental events that we all go through it is fair to say that the learning side of our cognitive development is always changing. This essay was written to explain the affects of our everyday lives and how it affects our cognitive domain. With what was said from Bronfenbrenner and David Elkind it is clear to say that the choices we make today do mostly change our lives in some way/s. I never completely understood the affects from my life could change the way I see and think about everything that I do today. References; Sigelman, Rider and De George-Walker, 2013, Life Span Human Development. Temple University, USA, 2014, http://www.temple.edu/tempress/chapters_1800/2136_ch1.pdf