Soccer Game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Soccer Game - Essay Example The home team started dominating the match, Ronaldo showed glimpses of his ability. The opening goal was scored by Ronaldo, it was a great goal, Osasuna did not come to the Santiago Bernabeu to surrender, it took them only a few minutes to restore parity and it was game-on. Real Madrid did not take the foot off the gas this time as they kept pushing hard for another goal, it came soon after Osasuna pulled one back. This time it was Pepe who scored for Real Madrid. There was a lot of chaos in the box but Pepe’s awareness helped the team and they led 2-1. Real Madrid went 3-1 up before half-time when Higuain scored a fantastic goal, the strike curled away from the keeper and hit the back of the net. The keeper just could not do anything about it. The referee consulted his lines-man in the second-half when Mesut Ozil was brought down in the box in the second-half, it was an easy decision. A penalty was awarded and Ronaldo scored with complete ease from the spot. Madrid led 4-1 an d they were cruising. Ronaldo scored again in the next few minutes, it was his hat-trick and it was a fine hat-trick. Madrid led 5-1 at this point and they completely dominated the game and it was a very well-deserved lead. Karim Benzema came on in the second-half and scored two brilliant goals to give Real Madrid a resounding lead of 7-1, the away team was completely outplayed, they just could not stop the Real Madrid players from running riot. Angel Di Maria who plays as a winger for Real Madrid pulled his hamstring muscle and is surely going to out for several months; this was perhaps the only downside for the home team who won very comfortably to say the least. Ronaldo’s attitude has always been questioned but his fine hat-trick should silence the critics at least for the time being if not for an extended period. The involvement of the referee should also be analyzed; the referee had a great outing. He did not make any unreasonable calls and he consulted his lines-man whe never he was in doubt, a fair bit of communication took place between the referee and his subordinates. The following part of the paper would shed more light upon the very same. Interpersonal Communication The referee had a look at his lines-man who started flagging after Mesut Ozil was brought down in the box, when the lines-man flags, it means a foul has taken place; the referee has the power to overrule the lines-man but on this occasion both were reading from the same page and a penalty was awarded to Real Madrid. On many occasions the fans gets to see the referee overruling the lines-man but there are other occasions when something which the referee fails to spot gets spotted by the mines-men and this is how the game becomes better and more entertaining. Many a time players tuck each other’s jerseys’ and the referee may not see it because he may not be in the right position to see it, this is when the lines-men earn their bread and butter. Communication between th e referees and the lines-men has become so much better these days. The lines-men need not try and catch the attention of the referees, they are well connected on the pitch, they have microphones attached to their ears and every word spoken by the referee can be heard by the lines-men and every word spoken by the lines-men can be heard by the referee. Even the fourth official has the same device attached to his ears and the referee tell the fourth offici

Crisis Management and Communication in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Crisis Management and Communication in Organizations Essay 1. Introduction In the modern changing world a crisis can happen anywhere. It cannot be expected. And Effective Communication is really important when managing a crisis as one mistake done by the Organization can affect the whole Organization itself, its stakeholders and the Industry. It even could threaten public safety, the financial position of the organization and the reputation. It can lead to disruption of operation creating loss of market (W.T Coombs, 2007). That’s where communication comes in handy as lack of communication between the Society and the Organization can lead to distress, this is the where verbal and non verbal communication is really important. Referring to the case of Dominos pizza (New York Times ,2009), when two employs of the Dominos franchise in Conover, N.C, played a video prank with the food and putting the video on YouTube, the Management waited hoping that it will blow away and that is what went wrong. There was no news from them in the first 24 hrs. Instead of answering the queries of the consumers and the media they waited in the hope that it will cool down which never happened (New York Times, 2009). In a situation like this it’s really important to face the society and tell them what’s going on, should communicate with them verbally and non verbally or else the society will keep the image of the organization the way they want, good or bad. When in crisis after appointing a spokes person, it’s really important for the spokesperson to be calm and pleasant when confronting the media avoiding nervous habits ensuring the limit of disfluencies such as â€Å"umhs† or â€Å"uhs†, while avoiding fidgeting and pacing (W.T Coombs,2007). There is a good crisis example in 1993 â€Å"The Pepsi product tempering in 1993† (M.Hubbard,2006).They proved that effective communication in the Organization and effective crisis public relations campaign combining various strategies can rebound the hoax(M.Hubbard,2006). When dealing with media regarding a business crisis, it’s really important for the organization to stick to what they say if the statements given by the organization keeps on changing, dealing with the public relations will be a total disaster. They have to be very clear about what they say avoiding the statements which doesn’t make sense keeping it simple with limited information for the time being. 2. The Crisis 2.1. Communication Tactics It was clear in the case of Dominos pizza (New York Times, 2009) that management wasn’t aware of the situation unless a blogger alerted the Domino’s vice president of communications Tim McIntyre. There was no reaction from the management first as they didn’t want to alert more people to the story. And according to the Adage, a trade publication, Dominos response was late as in a situation like this the firm should be responsive to the crisis in the first 24 hrs and domino’s took 48 hrs to be fully responsive (R.Flandez, 2009). Just for the sake that more people might be alerted there was no issue of formal press release to mainstream press meanwhile the internal team was busy to form a strategy. After the management came to know of the videos they started to search for the two employs of dominos that were responsible for the videos with the help of bloggers and YouTube, and little that they realized that 70% of the conversation was going on Twitter and YouTube. As the Crisis began and most of the conversations were going on within the Social Networks from dominos they opened a twitter account to be responsive to the consumers and the society, even the President of the domino’s pizza Patrick Doyle appeared on a YouTube video and explained the present situation of Domino’s and that the store where the video was shot were closed and sanitized, for the efforts of Domino’s Richard Levick, President of the Levick Communications gives an â€Å"F† for the first 24 hrs and an â€Å"A† for the rest (R.Flandez,2009). By using the social Networks domino’s managed to handle the situation well. 2.2. Goods and Bads During the crisis, It could be clearly seen that even though Dominos was in a bad situation they didn’t jump on defending just because they might attract more people and they didn’t hold anything like a press conference, which wasn’t appropriate during that situation, but they did upload a video on YouTube and opened a twitter account to defend dominos and to tell people what was going on which was a good thing they did. The YouTube and twitter response was good but what about the older generation?, the people who are not on any of these but still a fan of dominos, they will only hear what people say considering there was no press conference or statement on TV which is a direct source of information to the Public. From dominos if they had got on TV they could have told the public as whole that they are working on the crisis and what they are doing about it. Even in the YouTube video the president of Dominos pizza Patrick Doyle stated that the store where the video shot was taken by the pranksters was closed and sanitized (R.Flandez,2009),they could have invited the Media ( TV stations and reporters) to witness the process. Even though the two employs of Dominos were fired after the video they could have managed to get a live statement of what actually happened and why they did it. It could have given extra support to prove the innocence of the whole organization. In the case of Pepsi-Cola in 1993(M.Hubbard,2006) when a man in Tacoma, Washington claimed that he had found a syringe in a can of diet Pepsi, the story started spreading like wild fire in the country more claims started arising. Pepsi-Cola announced that they will pursue legal action against anyone making false claims and started work on proving the innocence of Pepsi-Cola, and the claims did turn out to be a hoax. The president of Pepsi Craig Weatherup made appearances on TV and gave statements on radio. They even brought in cameras to the Pepsi bottling plant to show the bottling process and proved that there is no way that a foreign object could be inserted in to bottle or can before its sealed(M.Hubbard,2006), which is a very good example of communication in crisis. Dominos did make mistakes but they still managed the situation at a time there was no Social media plat forms or strategy in the Organization (M.Agnes, 2012) 3. Recommendations After the incident took place on 13th April 2009.a study conducted by HCD Research found 65% of respondents who were daily customers hesitates to do so after watching the offending video(R.Flandez,2009). Recommendations are many for this kind of situations. Like they could have prepared a communication list of reporters investors and customers, business partners and advisors and give to an official statement instead of waiting without any actions like in the dominos case and also admitting that there is a problem helps to move on with the others steps of the process to overcome the crisis(M.Nowlan, 2006).Many companies give out the phrase â€Å" no comment† and that is not the best thing to do as the public will conclude the situation making the Company guilty. And also respond to the situation as quickly as possible (M.Nowlan, 2006). 4.Conclusion As Effective communication plays a major role in the business organization it’s really important for the organizations to be ready for what might come for them. As one single mistake made by them at a time of crisis can lead to a loss which would be difficult to get over. As in the case of Dominos they were nearly out of business, there was couple of things which could have been done from the company side which were neglected in communicating the public. It’s important to take action internally but considering the company to be a service provider, issues will rise in a speed that no human can expect it that way. Let this case be a lesson to all the service providers to improve their image for the future.

Sainsburys: Strategies for Customer Retention

Sainsburys: Strategies for Customer Retention CHAPTER (1) Abstract My research paper basically seeks to understand the priorities of customer in Sainsbury of selection of products while shopping. And Sainsburys efforts to work on their new products with maintenance of their class and reasonable value to give best services to their loyal customers. My research also seeks to highlight the consumer behaviour which makes them to keep visiting Sainsburys. UK retail market is the best example of competitive market. Research need to understand the product class which leads to quality of product and categorization of products, secondly the product value which shows pricing with different aspects in the UK market and specially in Sainsburys. And I am also going to research about the failure strategies of the Sainsburys. I will conduct this research by the one to one interview with the senior manager of Sainsburys as well as there would be a deep research which will be taken out from the questionnaire with the customer of Sainsburys. Basically the interview will give me the basic line of action of the marketing strategy of the new product of Sainsburys and also it will identify the different products class and with their different values. Questionnaire from the customer will highlight the requirements and basic theme of the consumer that what they think, what they plan and how they choose. I shall also discuss the last two years of the Sainsburys progresses about the products because in past two year Sainsbury has improved their activities under the new management. Introduction United Kingdom is one of the most fast growing markets in fast moving consumer goods in the world. Market opportunities are comparatively very better than the other countries. Resources and legal GOVT. policies are very helpful for the new entrants in the retail market even though the UK five hundred retailers are enjoying about 85 percent of the whole market and rest of 215000 retailers are struggling for remaining market shares. And this trend or market competition encourages or forces the retailers to focus only the customer needs. This trend gives the opportunity to big retailers to make the huge supermarkets. That all the fast moving products include food and noon food item, home appliances and much more under the same roof to fulfil the customer needs and these supermarkets proved more convenience for the consumers. In early 19 century in UK, the retail market had different shape which calls co-operative movement where the multiple retailer or group of retailers comes under one management for working together to sell their products in reason able price to their customers. This trend of co-operative movement started in UK by Rochdale, Lancashire in 1840 and later in north of Englands retailers. But this merging was only for the customers who purchased the products in bulk. After Second World War when the economy of United Kingdom was rebuilding, that was the perfect time for the investors to invest in the different fields of business and retailers also made their positions. Like after four year of war end Marks Spencer opened their first supermarket in 1948 then Sainsburys opened in 1950, Tesco opened their first self service store in 1954, Morison opened 1958 and ASDA opened first supermarket in 1963. The era of 1960, 70s, 80s was the time of expansion of these giants who later opened their sup ermarket with different sizes in all over the places in UK, made their stores more convenience and gave more reliable services to their customers. In todays fast paced life nobody has time to go at individual shops for all the household needs and supermarkets has fulfilled this deficiency by providing their target market all the products i.e., from grocery to personal care, and from children items to medicines and electronics, furniture, fresh items, meat, etc. etc. The availability of all these items under one roof has various attractions which encourage a customer to visit in supermarkets. (www.tescopoly.org) (Raphael Moreau: franchiseek.com) Supermarkets have one major advantage that customer come mentally prepared to make heavy shopping i.e., at least the stock of one week household items so that he / she do not have to come again and again for small items. As London is one of most populated city in the world and day-to-day expenses needs to be made by everyone, in this way supermarkets are able to make large volume of sales. Due to large scale of purchasing supermarkets are able to make different offers especially on the frequently moving items like snacks, cheese, drinks, chocolates, bakery items, beers, wine, vegetables, fruits, meat, etc. etc. In this way consumers are tempted to make forced selling. Due to large sales volume the selling costs goes down which in turn enhances the profits of the supermarkets. (Grahame Dowling: Buying Behaviour) At the start of 2007 the UK retail market was worth about 128.2 billion with the comprehensive increase of 4 percent after 2006. End of 2007 that was reported that there are about 99, 134 retail stores in the United Kingdom which contain the small stores like Spar or Londies and also include the supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury etc. These all stores, grocers and supermarkets are expanding their businesses widely as their target market is expanding which made the UK market best example of perfect competitive market. (www.igd.com) UK retail Market Growth UK Grocery Market Performance (Source: IGD Research 2007) As discussed about the supermarkets and different retailers it shows that the customers of UK have wide range of option of selection. In order to evaluate the customer selection of product is the firm it should mostly refer to the traditional forms of marketing as they can be observed in most companies internationally. In this context, the study of Aufreiter et al. (2000) showed that when traditional marketers think of organization, they mean structure: distinct product, channel, and customer groups focusing on specific functional tasks, such as brand differentiation, customer segment management, and market research while functional managers play the pivotal roles in these functionally focused customer groups, which are responsible for generating ideas and taking them to market. (Aufreiter, N., Lawyer, T., Lun, C. (2000) In a sense, customer selection of product is formulated in each case in accordance with the needs of the particular company but most importantly with the conditions of the market. The term of focusing the product is often used in this case to show the involvement of entrepreneur in the design and the application process of the customer satisfaction of specific product and the main targets of the marketing policies used by a specific organization. In this context, Welsh (2003) supported that this term can be defined as â€Å"the proactive identification and exploitation of opportunities for attracting and retaining customers through innovative approaches to risk management, resource leveraging and value creation† (Welsh, 2003, 5). On the other hand, it is necessary that firms internationally use the appropriate techniques of communication in accordance with the social and cultural conditions of the market involved. Regarding this issue, the study of Dobie et al. (2003) showed t hat â€Å"marketing communications are an important element of any product as it is essential to inform potential and existing customers regarding product/service availability and application, and to persuade potential users to investigate, examine, and/or try the proffered product/ service†. (Dobie, K., Grant, J., Megehee, C. (2003). After reviewing the different views of customer selection one could easily notify that in UK where about 10 percent of the whole country is not native can be a complicated market where the product selection can be different and these people have to cover by supermarkets to attract them by their native products with concern food and grocery products. And this objective forces them to make new product lines in their stores. As I mentioned about the trend of supermarket in the UK and further on the three top supermarkets are following: Tesco ASDA Sainsburys This is the recent research that Tesco has 31.5 percent of whole UK retail market share further on ASDA who has 16.7 percent as well as Sainsbury who covered the 16.3 percent market share. In 1980s and early 90s Sainsbury had the leadership of UK market how ever in 1995 Tesco leads with 17 percent market share with rapidly increasing following years. But from past two years when the Sainsbury comes under new management with Justin King they increased well and fortune is this that could compete their rival ASDA and could regain on number two position in UK retail market. Sainsburys management is now improving under the new managerial structure and introducing the wide range of production their stores with different class and value. They increased their organic range and new lines of something new which also include the food items which concern their other countries customers who are living in UK. (news.bbc.co.uk) In 2005 Sainsbury also changed their slogan â€Å"try something new today† to introduce their wide range of new products to their loyal customers. As the Sainsbury is the UK third largest supermarket has increased its like to like sale from last two years. And this method encourages them to deliver large number of products in their stores which is a challenge and if they cant do so they can lower their growth rate as per their other competitors who are increasing significantly. Sainsbury also increased their non food products in the stores. They want to entertain their customer with their new product line including food and non food products. But the challenge is if their other rivals like ASDA and Tesco dont slope down their non food products offers it can be a big lose for Sainsbury. Sainsbury who has about 2.2 billion turnover per year has the fortune to increase it to 3.5 billion by 2011. Sainsbury also have smaller stores then Tesco and ASDA which they are planning to inc rease their stores next year as well as likely to increase the senior management of their stores. As we know Sainsbury has the massive 136 years history in the UK market even though some of the time likes 1995 when Tesco increased its market share till now which is incredible effort of Tesco. But from last two years as under new management they increased their number of stores with their new products. (The telegraph: 27/03/2008) Sainsburys supermarket chain is increasing their new product lines to fulfil the consumer requirement more customers are also making their shopping trend toward Sainsbury. Sainsbury is also managing the price strategy to maintain their sustainability in the market where there other rivals like Tesco and ASDA have vast pricing strategies. New offers are flourishing rapidly in Sainsbury. As I mentioned that UK customer have large number of selection which gives customer freedom of choice thats make Sainsbury to do more efforts. Sainsbury categorize their products with different ideas, thoughts and according to needs of consumer. I will discuss about it in next chapter but some are following with there basic themes. Taste the difference Be good yourself Basic organic Non food items These all Sainsburys categorize food products give the different consumers to different priorities like if we talk about the â€Å"taste the difference† products it covers those customers who come to Sainsbury to buy the quality products with the reasonable price. Second is â€Å"be good yourself† which always keep remember their customer that they are eating low fat food which makes them more healthy and specially those customer who are diet conscious. Third Sainsbury has a wide range of own manufactured brand called Basic which is key area of the Sainsbury turnover. In basic products they promise their customer to give them good products in very low price as per other supermarkets doing. Forth Sainsbury has organic products which give the opportunity to their consumers to buy the products which are total artificial ingredients free. And Sainsbury has introduced organic products in the UK market first in 1985 and latter other retailers got fruit from this product plan. (The telegraph: 11/01/2008) (www.j-sainsburys.co.uk) It is recently been announced by UK retail supermarket giant Sainsburys that their profit increased to 488 million pounds at 2007 which is 28 percent increased form last year. The declaration comes just a day after price rises leapt to three per cent, partly fuelled by improving grocery products prices. Chairman Philip Hampton said: â€Å"This year has been mainly important for Sainsburys since it marked the achievement of the Making Sainsburys Great Again revival plan represent in October 2004 and we stimulated from a period of improvement to development.† Last financial year Sainsburys also take over their target 2.5 billion to 2.7 billion. As for the competitive prices Sainsbury also increase their number of customer visit from 14 million to 16.5 million. And Sainsburys also going to distribute around 47 million pounds to their colleague this year which will come average 401 pounds to every worker. (The Metro UK, May 14th 2008) CHAPTER (2) History of Sainsburys The early years (1869-1940) Mr. John James and Marry Ann Sainsbury was the founder of Sainsburys in 1869. The first shop they open in London at â€Å"Drury Lane†. It was the small dairy shop as well as the area where they open the shop was the poorest area but this shop becomes very popular in the local area as their high quality product in very low price as compared to others. This success encourages Sainsburys owners to open more shops in surrounding areas. In 1882 this short period James Sainsburys had four shops and also he was planning to expand his business in other areas. On the meanwhile they also made their own brand product. Sainsburys also opened its wide range products shop in Croydon which become familiar in very short period. Furthermore in 1890 and 1900 the Sainsburys branches increased from 16 to 48 in all over London as well they open the depot at Black friars which was near to wholesale markets. Era of World War I The world was 1 led the Sainsbury to face the shortage of staff. in 1914 one third of the male staff left to join the armed forces. Women replace the men after getting the training from the school at Blackfriars. Company started to expand during the inter war era. Sainsburys expended in the suburbs of London like Luton, Cambridge, and St Albans. in 1939 there were 244 shops in the UK. Post War Era (1939-1969) This era was the most difficult for the Sainsburys as its assets were badly damaged by bombing and few of them were used by the army as warehouse. This era was not only hard for the Sainsburys but for the British people. The acute shortage of food in June 1950 Sainsburys reopened its first store in Corydon from there Sainsburys started to boom again. In 1969s Sainsburys started to expand in the west and Midlands. Sainsburys: Contemporary Image (1979-2000s) After the world war two, Sainsbury enter a new era of prosperity and growth till then the Sainsburys completed its age of a century. And it was still owned by the founding family. One of the major problem faces by the company in early 1970s was the shortage of oil due to which the cost increased many faults. The increase cost was overcome with the help of bulk merchandizing decreasing per unit cost. The largest stores like one in Cambridge which was opened in1974 offered a wide Varity of product range. It further started to expand in north east England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Thus becoming a national symbol. Sainsburys innovated a lot of techniques and styles of retailing using various tools and technology like scanning, computerized stock control and sale base ordering system. Sainsburys was the pioneer which gave a new face to the retailing system for example by using computerizes, energy management, refrigerate plant in store bakery, chillers and freezers. The produ ct ranges got twice till 1994 representing the numerous range of product like produce fresh foods, salads, ready meals, reduced fat milk and different types of specially breads. Sainsburys was the first British market to mark the â€Å"fair trade† products and using the recycle martial for the paper products and the carrier bags. The profitability measures of Sainsbury are 1991 2002: Sainsbury Profitability ratios 1991 1992 2000 2001 2002 Total operating profit margin 5.10% 4.85% 3.74% 3.41% 3.72% Group profit before tax margin 4.70% 4.62% 3.33% 2.98% 3.44% Interest payable as a percentage of turnover 0.50% 0.31% 0.41% 0.41% 0.27% Source: http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/ratios/profit_add6a.htm Sainsburys maintained the profits in the years 2000 to 2002. In 1998 – 1999, the profits were better than year 2000. The shows that the profit slump is noticeable and was due to the management failure and high competition. Source: http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/ratios/profit_add6a.htm Clear form the chart that Sainsburys lost its profit sharing in the year 2001 and 2002 and it discontinued many operations and it earned the minimum profit in the year 2002 which started to decline from the year 1998. Today Sainsbury serves more than 16 million customers each week. it has 455 supermarkets and 301 convenience stores across UK. More then 148000 people work under the umbrella of Sainsburys. Sainsburys strongly believes in high quality products and low price. Following that Sainsburys decrease 8500 prices in 2006. Keeping in view the advanced customer concerns about the health (health conscious customers). It introduced the â€Å"Wheel of health† following the traffic light system, highlighted the ingredients and calories presented to customer. These days more then 2000 products has been labelled by the wheel of health. Sainsburys also contributes in charities and local community as well. It donated 70 million pounds to all primary and secondary schools with the help of its â€Å"active kids campaign† using the fair trade products as a priority projects its image as the strong supporter of poor deserving farmers through out he world. In2005 and 2006 Sainsburys staff donated around 9 million pounds in several of charities. Sainsburys also support the comic relief and sorts relief. Sainsbury is also committed towards the environment and does not support the use of plastic carrier bags, which are made of 33 percent recycle martial processed in most advanced recycling units. Sainsburys has lunched a lot of campaign to reuse the plastic bags. Such sort of activities has reduced the carbon emission by 20 percent since the year 2000. At 14 May 2008 announcing the results of last financial year 2007 Justin King Chief Executive said â€Å"since then we have grown sales by 2.7 billion pounds, betting the target of 2.5 billion we said ourselves, and in march we reported our 13th consecutive quarter of like for like growth. I am also pleased to be able to let you know that, we have reported an increase in profit of 28 percent, up to 488 million pounds for the year ending 22 March 2008, more then double the 238 million pounds we reported for the year ending March 2005†. Research Question What makes the customers to opt the products in terms of class or value in the Sainsburys? This research will provide the essential key points of customer selection of products in terms of quality and price in Sainsburys. Aims and Objectives The main aims and objectives of this research project are to: Analyze the customer priorities by quality, price and quantity while shopping in Sainsburys. Find the purpose of range of products in Sainsbury in terms of quality and price. Prices of the product as per other competitors. Marketing strategy of Sainsburys for their new products with different prices. Purpose of product categorization in Sainsburys. Critically evaluate and make out the upgrading which could be introduced into Sainsburys based on the price and quality. Scrutinize the past activities to identify the areas of failure of their products by price and quality. Personal Objectives My personal objectives are: To get aware from leading supermarkets marketing strategy for their range of products and boost my international marketing edge. Secondly to complete my subject and go further for my MBA degree. CHAPTER (3) Literature Review Promotion The retailers having more items and products meeting the customer needs and information called as full service retailers covering every phase of the market segment and Operating such type of retailer service not to be an easy job to be done. Due to the high cost of staffing, higher number of goods including the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and slower moving items. Therefore the resulting of towering cost of the business. Hence the promotion of the product of such type of retailer like Sainsburys is highly debatable so as to increase the sale and profit margin. The marketing promotion can not be neglected. In this phase of increase competition, adopting such strategies can easily make a difference. A retailers most important decision depends upon the target market. One has to define and profile the target market before taking any decision. The retailer especially like the Sainsburys emphasises on the product assortment and procurement to comply with the target market demand. Chal lenge of the product assortment leads to develop a product differentiation strategy which differentiates the seller or retailer or merchandiser from the competitors on behalf of product. Seven known possibilities of the product differentiation strategy are Exclusive national brand private branded merchandise Distinctive merchandise events Surprise merchandise New merchandise first Merchandize customizing service Highly targeting assortment Although Sainsburys does not fall in all of such category and has not still adopted but the strategies like private branded merchandize, newest merchandise and targeted assortment have effectively been adopted. Sainsbury can make a difference by product differentiation such as offer merchandise which has been successfully introduce by Harrodss of London which makes customer oriented/tailored suits and further clothe accessories. Such type of customer assistance increases the customer satisfaction as well as customer confidence. Retailers like Sainsbury Tesco, ASDA Morison are improving there efficiency by forecasting and merchandizing for stock control, space allocation and display. For ordering the goods, measuring the inventory and analyzing the sales. The supermarket chains have adopted there computers and scanners to manage there merchandize mix. Direct product profitability (DPP) is currently being used to measure the cost of the product in store from the point of arrival till a customer buys it. Low volume products have normally low handling and keeping cost as compare to the high volume products which have high handling cost and therefore are less profitable. Thus they are kept in a low volume normally. This strategy has been successfully by the Sainsburys by keeping the more number of groceries and a less number of home ware items therefore Sainsbury makes a profit margin from the FMCG products. (Philip Kotler, Millennium Ed ) Sainsbury supply chain The supply chain strategy of Sainsbury was lunched in autumn 2000. The supply chain strategy if Sainsbury is focused on managing all segments starting from logistics and distribution to the shelf of the store. The goal of the Sainsburys supply chain strategy in base on the following few principles: Paper less Stockless Simple Automatic Precise and accurate Sainsbury emphasize at improved performance via reducing the cost improving the accessibility and availability, minimum loss and maximum level of services. Development of such innovative processes is developing to provide most effective and efficient service with least cost, thus delivering the reduced cost and profit to the customer in aspect of price. Sainsburys replaced all of the warehouse management and data base management over a 3 year period time since year 2000. (www.sainsburys.co.uk) J Sainsbury chief executive Justin King announced the â€Å"Recovery to growth† at 14th may 2008. He said â€Å"†¦we have already celebrated our success in growing our sales by 2.5 billion pounds but today we confirmed that we have achieved all of the target we set ourselves in our three year recovery plan. Looking to the future: we now need to continue this success so that we can achieve our new three year target, which we set out last May, of an extra 3.5 billion pounds of sales by March 2011. this is the next part of our, `Making Sainsbury Great Again plan,` where we will be focusing on moving from recovery to growth. Its another challenging target but I am confident that we will achieve it. We will continue to concentrate on the things that have helped us succeeded so far- great service and great availability to drive great sales. We will also continue to carefully manage our costs, so we can increase our profit. Store development will also be big focus for us, with our half of our stores undergoing works and opening the hundred new convenience stores over the next three years. We will also be expanding our online operations to two hundred our stores.† By March 2008 Sainsbury achieved 2.7 billion extra sales over the original target of 2.5 billion. (The Telegraph, May 18th 2008) He also declared 45 million pound to be distributed as bonus among 118000 colleagues this June. It is very clear statement of Justin King that the key to success is the great service and great availability which proved Sainsburys great again. Great service includes the customer service after sale services and customer convenience in the stores. Where as great availability covers the availability all of the products at all time making successful the supply chain of the Sainsburys. The higher sales are result of supply improvement since 2005. Sainsburys has been focusing to improve the stock availabilities by resolving information technology issues and delivery problems which was affected by its bad supply chain earlier. In 2005 the sales increased 3.7 percent which latter on lifted up to 7.2 percent in late 2005. Justin King said â€Å"our major focus on availability in beginning to show results with both colleagues and customer noticing improvement in store†. Justin King alway s emphasizes on the availability in any aspect starting from improving themselves in terms of refurbishment and colleagues training. (www.bbc.co.uk) Supply Something New -Value and Quality For the very begging Sainsbury has been struggling to provide the customer satisfaction via quality and price. Sainsbury has adopted a number of strategies regarding the concern for example Taste The Difference, Be Good Your Self, Basic, Organic, special offers like Buy One Get One Free, Buy Four Cheapest Free, Multi buy Price Offer, Buy One Get One Half Price and many more. Sainsbury does not only keep the concern with the customer but with the supplier as well. Sainsbury launched its new plan regarding the innovation in retail industry by introducing the supply something new scheme. Scheme was offered from 21 SEP 2007 and is offered to all sized food supplier. Scheme encourages the suppliers to offer the best they can offer to be shelved in Sainsburys. Kellys of Cornwall, Danby Dale Pie Company, Jack Scaife Bacon and Honey Buns have been recently added on the list of Sainsburys products. The process is quick and reliable and takes only three months to complete. The successful appli cants are approached by the supply chain team to transport the product from producer to stores. The scheme has only been offered to small and medium size manufacturing companies so as to offer a minimal price to the end user depending upon the level of productivity of the producer for example cranberry, flap jack, and plain vanilla flap jack are offered at the price 2.59 pound and 3.39 pounds respectively. The scheme does not only reflects the innovative thought of the producer but the user himself because the scheme is valid for small and medium base firm only and it is only the buyer or journal customer/user who operates at such level. (http://www.supplysomethingnew.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=11) Sainsburys and Fare trade The fair trade label was first defined four decades ago in 1988 by Max Havelarr used for a coffee from Mexico. Basically fair trade is a strategy develops to minimize the poverty and growth for the developing and under developing countries. The fair trade was specially design for such formers who lake the access the world market possessing improved trade benefits. Sainsbury is the UK biggest fair trade retailer. The fair trade certify products are those which are bought from the marginalised small scale farmers and agricultural workers, keeping a non fixed minimum price that a buyer has to pay to the seller. It is the set price which covers the cost of the product. The fair trade price has the safety advantage to the farmers even if the price of the product falls below the market level. On the other hand if the market price higher then the fair trade prices the buyer has to pay the market price. Through this fair trade the buyers and sellers sign the long term trading relationship fo r a specific predefine grades of produce. The fair trade law tells the end user advantage of the usage of the product and helps in effective promotion and identification of deserving quality products. Sales of Fair-trade certified products in the UK Estimated UK retail sales by value 1998-2007 ( £ million) Estimated percentage increases from 2006-2007 Total sales: 127% increase by volume and 72% by estimated retail value Total coffee: 33% increase by volume and 24% by estimated retail value Total tea: 21% increase by volume and 24% by estimated retail value Wine: 47% increase by volume and 51% by estimated retail value Flowers: 71% increase by volume and 72% by estimated retail value Cotton: 1,655% increase by volume and 658% by estimated retail value The volume of the fair trade products has been doubled between year 2006 and 2007. according to the data, consumers spent 1.1 billion pounds on fair trade products in 2006. As an average Sainsburys sales around 10,00,000 fare trade bananas. Justin King said, â€Å"by working together on this scale, the new fund will help to dramatically extend the benefits fare trade create to more farmers and worker in new areas, which have previously note been fait trade accredited†. Sainsbury has a land mark to converte all of his bananas to fair trade in July 2007. According to the s Sainsburys sells 1000 bananas a minute, 150 thousand a week and 700 million bananas a year and all of the bananas are fair trade. The sale of bananas have been increased by 5 percent (approximately 35 million bananas) since the Sainsburys has jumped to 100 percent fare trade bananas.

How The Movie A Few Good Men And The Play Antigone Found Honor In What

It is not uncommon for the Civil Law to conflict with Honor. This means that the laws of people, jobs, countries, and duties usually establish a problem with the glory, or respect of people and their self-will, because there are different views of something on each side. This statement is true because many aspects of life involve standing up for what you believe in, while going against the laws of what you have to follow, even though the civil people don’t have any patience for any excuses. In the play Antigone by Sophicles, and the movie A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin, Antigone, Dawson and Downy stand up for what they think is right at that moment, and go against the laws they were to follow. The Greek Tragic Hero Antigone is characterized as a person with great honor and has a conflict with going against the civil law under Creon, and not burying Polynices. Polynices was a traitor to Thebes and was killed in war against his brother Eteocles. Antigone, Eteocles’s and Polynices’s sister wanted to give Polynices a proper burial. Antigone buried Polynices twice and was caught the second time due to her screaming and crying. â€Å"There is no shame in honoring my brother (Antigone line 430),† it is true that Antigone stood up for what she believed in, even though there were consequences of dying. Perhaps the honor that you have inside of you is more important than the laws that are created for you. Creon, the King of Thebes did not like the fact that Antigone, Creon’s own niece, w...

Chinease theory of discovery of America Essay

There are many theories or ideas on who discovered America first. Many people believe it was Christopher Columbus, the Vikings, or in my case some believe that the Chinese arrived here before Columbus. It is believed by some people that Chinese sailors beat Columbus to America by more than 70 years. Anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists have debunked or out ruled much of the evidence that has been gathered over the years to support this theory. It has been named the 1421 Theory. It is said that sometime 10,000 years ago, the people from China are believed to have crossed over the Bering land bridge from Siberia to what is now Alaska. From there, they are believed to have spread out over the course of millennia. Once they got here they started diverging genetically and populating North and South America. The problem is that the only real evidence they have is maps and some artifacts, which from carbon dating trace back to 2200 B. C. These generally have been found on the coasts of Florida, South Carolina, New York and Canada. Many people believe this theory due to evidence found, like artifacts and maps. Also many people were convinced by books written by scientists, archeologists, and historians. One of these books is 1421: The Year China Discovered America, by Gavin Menzies. It is said that he tells and describes the theory so well. I do believe that it could be possible that China arrived here before Columbus but there are many holes in the theory according to some historians. But over all I do not believe that they beat columbus to the Americas. There just isn’t enough proof and any kind of written or physical evidence to show or prove to me in any way that they were for sure here about 70 years before Christopher Columbus. So I would have to turn down this theory due to the lack of proof given. Citations â€Å"Chinese cartography: China beat Columbus to it, perhaps | The Economist. † The Economist – World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013. . Clark, Josh. â€Å"HowStuffWorks â€Å"Did the Chinese beat Columbus to America? â€Å". † HowStuffWorks â€Å"History†. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013. . Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia. â€Å"Did Chinese beat out Columbus? – The New York Times. † The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013. .

The Role of Resocialisation in Society

The Role of Resocialisation in Society Resocialisation can be described as the change of existing social roles with new ones (Ferrante, 2010, p. 139). People are made to adapt to the new roles because of the situations they get themselves in. Socialisation involves making people more aware of their roles in the society. The process of resocialisation occurs in many areas and has both positive and negative outcomes. This paper discusses the process of resocialisation and the ways in which it affects an individual and the society.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Role of Resocialisation in Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Resocialisation in Organisations Different organisations have different ways in which they conduct their affairs; most of them have a set of codes and rules, which all those who want to be part of them have to respect. These codes and rules are meant to give an identity to all those who are either active in the organisation or who identify with its ideals. New people who join such organisations are made to observe these rules to enable them to be identified with it (Ferrante, 2010, p. 143). Resocialisation involves making people, who are part of an organisation either willingly or unwillingly, transform their behaviour and personalities to suit their new environment. Organisations work hard to adopt resocialisation to control the level of engagement of the people who are active in them. Pante (2006) reveals that business organisations have codes of conduct, which their employees need to abide by (p. 84). These rules are meant to organise the way work is done with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each individual. Some students have to balance between working and doing part time jobs while in college. They become resocialised by working so that they can reduce their overdependence on parents. The students are forced to accept their new roles by their parent’s lack of money for their college fees. New members of an organisation are made aware of the new roles they are supposed to assume. They are made to undergo certain procedures, which prepare them for the new roles that they are expected to assume. The resocialisation process helps them to change their behaviour, attitudes and perceptions towards the organisation and the business activities it undertakes (Goffman, 1968, p. 25). This approach makes recruits’ expectations and attitudes suit the environment in which they become part of both in the present and in the future. Organisations have their own internal power and influence, which makes them carry out a set of resocialisation procedures that their members need to conform to.Advertising Looking for term paper on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Organisations have different reasons for resocialising their employees. Some organisations are more interested in resocialis ing their members more than others. These organisations are motivated by the need to be seen as strong, attractive and invincible in the societies in which they transact. For instance, legal systems are known for their aggressive approach towards resocialising people who are active in them. Police officers who have just been enrolled must measure up to the highest moral and legal standards to discharge their duties effectively. Law enforcement systems expect their staff to be selfless and diligent to maintain law and order in the society. Students who have to work part time do so willingly. Their resocialisation occurs because they need to earn a living; they are more self driven and is not similar to that the new police recruits undergo. Employees who join an organisation are made aware of the work procedures they are supposed to follow; their resocialisation is more formal and is done to help them settle in their new jobs as quickly as possible. Both employees and organisations de pend on each other mutually for their objectives to succeed. Features of Resocialisation Resocialisation takes place in many forms, which have a big impact on the perceptions, attitudes and behaviour of the people who undergo the process. Some procedures are carried out to shift the loyalties of the person being resocialised to the organisation or group which he or she is about to become part of. Resocialisation is done to make a person have a sense of belonging in the new environment that he lives in. There are various types of procedures that are also carried out during resocialisation; this is done to highlight the significance of the occasion being celebrated (Andersen Taylor, 2006, p. 77). These procedures fascinate the emotional, psychological or religious attitudes of the members of the community or organisation in which the practice is conducted.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Role of Resocialisation in Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Rituals have a big significance in resocialisation. Some communities carry out rituals because they are able to appease themselves through their religious practices and beliefs. For example, Native Americans use psychoactive substances to help them reconnect with their ancestors after several centuries of the Whites dominating them. These rituals are a form of resocialisation because through them the Native Americans identify their shared ancestry, traditions and kinship in the community where they live (Zimmerman, 2003, p. 87). Native Americans had been banned from carrying out these rituals when the US society was still dominated by white supremacy ideologies. The rituals serve as a bridge between them and their past, which they still cherish and want to keep alive. Ceremonies in different communities and organisations also play a crucial role in resocialisation. These ceremonies serve as procedures through which new participants are made to understand the new roles they are supposed to perform in their new environments. For instance, weddings are public resocialisation ceremonies, which prepare the bride and the groom for the new responsibilities taken up by the husband and his wife (Newman Grauerholz, 2002, p. 234). The internship processes in organisations resocialise new employees to be conversant with the work procedures they are supposed to perform at their work stations. Internships help the new graduates to acquire important skills, which they need to perform their duties. Initiations in some communities and organisations are carried out as rites of passage or as tests. For instance, many communities in Africa use circumcision and other forms of initiation as a rite of passage for their young people into adulthood. These young people are resocialised to perform the new roles that adults perform within a particular community. After initiation, some of these young people get married, move out of their pa rents’ homes or carry out the tasks that adults are expected to perform. Mavundla (2009) reveals that they do this to conform to the roles and responsibilities the society expects them to assume (p. 396). Resocialisation gives them the courage to withstand pressures of life that they will face as adults in the future. Besides initiation, there are also other forms of resocialisation that people have to undergo to join criminal, terrorist or secretive groups. Gangs use violence to initiate new members into their ranks. For instance, these new members are made to withstand lashings, rape or beatings to become part of these gangs.Advertising Looking for term paper on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dahl (2004) states that some members are forced to kill or maim other people for them to be become new members of a gang (p. 8). Therapy centres use various methods to resocialise drug and alcohol addicts to reduce their dependence on the substances that bind them. The addicts are resocialised to reform their compulsive instincts and accept other rewarding and more beneficial pursuits. Coping With Resocialisation Various resocialisation programs have objectives that they seek to achieve. Formal resocialisation programs encourage people to change their behaviours for them to be able to cope with life’s challenges. Prison systems are tough and many people in the society find it difficult to cope in them. Some prisoners cope with the harsh environment without difficulty; consequently, other criminals commit more serious crimes after leaving prison. Other inmates have strong networks in prisons, which protect them from other rival groups (Brym Lie, 2009, p. 77). Some prisons are controlled by criminal gangs who operate illegal businesses within them to retain their autonomy. The members of the gangs commit serious crimes in prison such as murder, rape, assault and extortion. They violate the rules without worrying about the consequences that they are likely to face. Jews who were confined in Nazi concentration camps faced a lot of problems. Together with Gypsies, they were abused, killed and overworked by the Nazi forces who wanted to destroy them. They were resocialised to feel that they are inferior to other races in Europe. The harsh treatment and servitude they were subjected to while in labour camps made them feel unwanted. They understood that their fate was sealed and they had little chance of getting out of the concentration camps alive. The concentration camps strengthened their will to survive (Bartrop Jacobs, 2010, p. 12). They held on to their traditional beliefs and religious practices, but did so in secret. As a result, they were able to ret ain their autonomy. People who have experienced difficult episodes in their lives are able to cope in an environment that encourages sharing and healing. People who have been victims of violence or child abuse need to be resocialised to understand that the pain they suffer is not of their own making. Levers (2012) argues that effective counselling programs help such victims to cope with their dark past and move on to a more promising future (p. 87). For instance, teenagers who are victims of parental abuse are easily lured to join criminal gangs. They mistake the bond they have with their fellow gang members for love. However, after some time, some of the youth in the gang may choose an alternative lifestyle that is free from crime. The young people stop associating with gangs and choose to go back to school to get a good education. For that reason, they retain their autonomy by being brave enough to make positive choices. Drug and substance addicts can cope with resocialisation in different ways. Their dependence on the substances drives them to seek an alternative lifestyle away from their destructive habits. For instance, they begin to get resocialised by undergoing rehabilitative programs, which help them to overcome their addictions (Levers, 2012, p. 93). They are able to regain their autonomy by reducing their dependence on the substances they consume. Former drug addicts can have difficulties in coping; for instance, they can be drawn back to the dangerous lifestyle they have been used to as a result of their failure to handle the rehabilitation. They retain their autonomy by continuing to take drugs. This is contrary to what they have been taught in rehabilitation centres. In conclusion, resocialisation occurs in many forms in the society. It can have positive or negative consequences for people who experience it. References Andersen, M. L., Taylor, H. F. (2006). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society with infotrac. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Ba rtrop, P.R., Jacobs, S.L. (2010). Fifty key thinkers on the holocaust and genocide. New York, NY: Taylor Francis. Brym, R. J. Lie, J. (2009). Sociology: Your compass for a new world. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Dahl, R. E. (2004). Adolescent brain development: Vulnerabilities and opportunities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 1-22. Ferrante, J. (2010). Sociology: A global perspective, enhanced. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Goffman, E. (1968). Asylums. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. Lazarus, L. (2004). Contrasting prisoners’ rights: A comparative examination of Germany and England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Levers, L. L. (2012). Trauma counselling: Theories and interventions. New York, NY: Springer. Mavundla, T. R. (2009). Rationalization of indigenous male circumcision as a sacred religious custom: Health beliefs of Xhosa men in South Africa. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20(4), 395-404. Newman, D. M., Grauerholz, E. (2002). Sociology of famil ies. New York, NY: Pine Forge Press. Pante, S. (2006). Cliffs test prep praxis II: Social studies content knowledge test (0081). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Zimmerman, L. J. (2003). American Indians: The first nations: Native North American life, myth and art. London: Duncan Baird.