Differnce Between Online and Physical Shopping

Introduction Online shopping or online retailing is a form of electronic commerce whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without an intermediary service. An online shop, eshop, e-store, Internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or shopping centre As we know that online shopping is the easy way shopping but also there are certain advantages as well as disadvantages.To overcome the technological challenges as well as global challenges most of the business organizations are running towards ecommerce or e-business. For the shopping of the two items I choose malla emporium and muncha. com to buy Saree and amazon. com and GS electronics to buy watch. While going to shopping I was unknown that what kind of saree to buy so I went in muncha. com for online shopping of saree . There I got different types of saree which can fulfill my requir ement. So I choose chiffon saree with blouse set. After then I moved to malla emporium for shopping of same that type of saree.There they show almost all kind of saree but I couldn’t find the saree like that which I got in muncha. It was so difficult to select saree and quality of it and while selecting there is a loss of time also but while doing by online it was easy and less time consuming. Another good that I would like to buy was watch. For watch I went to amazon. com which is a much known online business site. When I moved to amazon. com I was confused that which kind of watch I should buy. So I search watch at first then I saw titan watch which I like very much so I select that.To buy watch I went to GS electronics where there is showroom of watch. There I looked for the same watch but it was too difficult. I got titan watch but I couldn’t get the same one and the price rate was so different. 2. Shopping Comparison between Online and Physically In this world hum an being always prefer change. And by keeping in view this thing, there is another drastic change we see in shopping. Now a day we saw two types of shopping. The first is done by physically and the second is done by online. Attributes of shopping modes CharacteristicsAttributes Physical Shopping Online Shopping Information/Gathering ShoppingTravel cost- When I go to malla emporium for shopping there is a requirement of travel cost. No travel cost- While I do shopping through ebay, travel cost is not required. I can get a service in one click. Travel time- In the physically shopping we’ve to reach upto that store so there is loss of time. No travel time- As we do shopping by online then we can do shopping by one click in our home itself so time will be saved. More shopping fun- person have different view point.So while doing shopping physically we can enjoy. Less shopping fun- Online shopping is done by one click staying at a place so it’s not so fun. Less information c ertainity- That’s not sure that every shopkeeper tells the truth about the product so we cannot get full information about the product. More information certainity- We can get the real information that we want about the products in online shopping. Purchase/ TransactionHigher Purchase Price- When we do shopping by physically we’ve to charge high price because there is hidden cost like rental, inventory, labor cost.Lower purchase price- Online shopping help us to get a services in a reasonable price then physically shopping. Less distrust feelings caused by transactions. More distrust feelings caused by transactions. Transactions are mostly made by cash but in some place there are used of visa, debit cards. Transactions only occurred through master cards, credit cards, visa, debit card. Delivery timeNo delivery time- We can get the services by hand to hand so no delivery time is required.Delivery time- While doing shopping through online there is requirement of time for delivering of goods to us. Less inconvenience caused by delivery. More inconvenience caused by delivery. 3. Conclusion/ Recommendation Based on the project leading individuals to reallocate their time and money resources, this study examined the time and cost attributes of shopping modes, and explored the tradeoff between these two attributes, i. e. , the value of time, by assuming that consumers were faced with a shopping mode choice between physical store shopping and e-shopping.The final estimated value of time include two types: the value of travel time to shopping places, physical stores as far as this study concerned, and the value of waiting time for the delivery of purchased products. Of course consumers’ concern toward e-shopping is not only about time and cost. Some psychological aspects, such as information uncertainty and transaction security, have been playing an important role in dominating consumers’ e-shopping behavior, and have been even more widely d iscussed in the literature.However, ecommerce continues to advance, in speed and security in particular, it is generally believed that online information will be to a great extent improving both in quantity and quality in the near future. By that time, consumers’ negative perceptions towards e-shopping, such as information uncertainty and transaction security, may fade away. If this is going to be true, then consumers’ psychological concern over e-shopping may gradually be disappearing in the future. On the other hand, the economic concern over the travel problem; i. . , travel time and travel cost, about physical store shopping, and product delivery problem about e-shopping will ever exist. This makes the value of travel time is more costly then the value of delivery time, this study estimates worth noting. Moreover, this study also found that purchasing online to save travel time and travel cost, which is worth more for avoiding a shopping trip can be very inviting t o consumers, even though it is at the cost of waiting for a delivery of purchased products, which is worth an average monetary value.While delivering goods there arises problem. Delivery charge differs according to the goods. First, the value of product delivery time seems to highly depend on the types of products consumers shop and purchase. After all, waiting for a delivery of saree may take more time which I need for the especial party and also while delivering watch also takes time which I had to gift for the birthday f my brother.But also this delivery time is reduce by this online business sites according to the products. According to this project I come to know that online shopping is better for shopping rather than physically shopping because there is saving of time, money and we can get the more information about the products and services which we don’t get from the physically shopping. In the case of security there is strict rules and regulations which help us to ge t the product safely.

Describe the origins of public health in the UK Essay

Public health was best described by the Yale professor Winslow in 1920 who described it as ‘the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of the social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health’. Public health covers a range of areas, and is constantly having to be changed to keep up with the changing health needs of the public. (Fleming, M. and Parker, E. (2009) An introduction to Public Health Churchill Livingston Elsevier: Australia) During the Victorian Era, public health was not an issue that was dealt with by the government. There weren’t public hospitals, and only those from a wealthy background were able to access medical care. There was no such thing as vaccinations as there was very few educated on health, and many people died from diseases and infections in all classes, that now a day are easily treated. The people of this time were very uneducated about personal hygiene care and knew nothing about the spread of diseases. The people based their beliefs on their interpretations of what they saw going on around them. Due to the lack of knowledge it was believed if someone died it was because they were, for example, possessed by a daemon or they were a witch. In today’s society we have the understanding and science to allow us insight into the real reasons that people die and get unwell, we know that illness are not caused because someone is a witch. During the 19th century there was many factories built which offered jobs to many people, so many people moved from the country to be near the factories as the transport systems were so poor. This meant that there was large numbers of people living in small areas. Though when the people began work in the factories, they soon realised that all was not as good as they had hoped for. In today’s world we have a far better transport network which means people can live in less confined areas, and they can travel easily to reach their places of work. Long working hours, poor wages and bad nutrition meant that people’s health started to decline, and it was in fact the more rural living people that lived longer. People were paid such bad wages and there was no benefits system in place, so when people were unable to afford a house for them and their families they were sent to the workhouse which was a last resort, in the workhouse people never got out alive, all dying shortly after they entered due to the vast amount of sickness that was there. Children went to work in the factories as soon as they were old enough, about 8 years old, and the woman also went to work in the factories as well as caring for the sick. This meant that the death rate in woman and children was especially low. In 1833 the Factory Act was put into place. This act was to regulate the working hours of woman and children, it took a long time to be implemented but it was a step towards the regulation of working conditions. Today is it illegal for a child to work until they reach the age of 16, and woman get paid leave from their jobs when they have a baby, this has meant that children are able to go to school and get an education and grow physically and intellectually instead of going to work from they can walk. During this time there was no such thing as building controls, so the homes in which people lived were of bad conditions, they were overcrowded and did not have any sanitation such as running water or sewage facilities. A six bedroom house would have had 6 large families living in it, one family per room. This meant that people had to take turns sleeping and infection spread easily, due to lack of sanitation. In today’s society we have building control who ensure that ll homes are fit for purpose and most people have their own bedroom, rather than one family to a bedroom. The life expectancy of someone living at this time and working in one of these factories was around the age of 22. The life expectancy for tradesmen was 27, men had a higher life expectancy that woman, and the upper class had a life expectancy of 45 as they were not subjected to the reality of the slums and factories. In today’s society the life expectancy of woman is 5 to 10 years longer than it is for men. This is mainly due to the fact that woman look after their health better and are more regular users of going to the doctors than men are. Woman are also more likely to talk to their friends if they think that they have something wrong where as men are not big talkers when it comes to their health. During the Victorian Era 60’000 to 70’000 people during every decade from tuberculosis and the numbers dying from it decreased and in recent years it was thought to completely be eradicated. The health service then made the decision not to vaccinate people for the disease because there had been no numbers of death from it, but this has not been the case and people have begun to tract it again and there are people dying from it. (bbc 2011) In 2011, 8,963 cases of TB were reported in the UK. (NHS 2012) No toilet facilities or sewage system meant that people chucked their waste out to the street, not knowing the consequences that untreated waste would have on their health. The water that the waste was thrown into was the same water that vermin and other animals lived in; this water was also used by the families for cooking and drinking which meant there was a serious spread of infections. Cholera is a water born disease which claimed the lives of thousands of people living during the 19th century, the symptoms include; stomach pains, vomiting, diarrhoea and the skin turning blue. Dr John Snow, who is now a famous figure in history, was the first person to make the connection that cholera spread through the water. He was a working class man, and he went on to study the people and how they were becoming ill, and discovered how cholera was spreading, and so epidemiology began. Epidemiology is the study of the spread of diseases and it is something that is ongoing today with the many new diseases that are being found. (bbc) Cholera is a disease was thought to have been eradicated but due to the recent weather disruptions across the UK and Ireland, the government are concerned that there could be another breakout. Thousands of homes have become flooded and the sewage from these homes is running up and down the streets, this being a vast resemblance to the 19th century. Microbiologists testing water in Moorlands, Somerset, found it contains 60,000 to 70,000 bacteria per 100 milliliter. Water should contain no more than 1,000 per milliliter, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The towns and cities were not a pleasant place to be, the streets were filthy, and the drains and sewers which ran in the streets were blocked and overflowing. Rubbish was also just threw out to the street which meant there was a lot of vermin attracted, which also carried many diseases, this caused national concern. More and more housing was being needed, so poorly built houses were erected on top of rubbish piles, this rubbish did not provide solid founds, and made the houses very dangerous for living in. The poor people could not get help, the middle class saw them as immoral as they were all living in such cramped housing. There were charities set up, such as the Peabody Trust in 1862 and The Guinness Trust in 1890 which aimed to help the people but these failed to meet the needs of the people most desperate in society. In 1866 after a fourth case of cholera killed 6000 people; the government put the first piece of legislation in place that actually made changes to the peoples lives, The Sanitary Act. This law meant that authorities had to provide fresh water, sewage and waste disposal. This law took a long time to be implemented into all houses within Britain but it meant that life expectancy was slowly on the rise. All of the towns had to have a Sanitary Inspectors and the Home Secretary was empowered to take proceedings for the removal of nuisances where local authorities failed to act. Today all homes in Britain benefit from the Sanitary Act as they have running water and sewage facilities, and also a better knowledge on personal hygiene. By the end of the Victorian Era, treatment of illness started to become more advanced and surgery became more effective as there was a better knowledge. Moving into the 20th century there was still many of the problems which existed during the 19th century. These on-going problems included housing and slums, poverty, lack of hospitals, nutritional issues, and the same sanitation problems. One piece of legislation that ensured a better quality of life for the people was the House of the Working Class Act, this began the building of council houses, a development which is still being used in present day, especially sue to the recessionary times that we are currently in and the increasing amounts of people that are becoming homeless due to reduced jobs and opportunities. In today’s society we still have problems with many of these issues. In the recent economic climate and the recession, people have become unemployed and living has started to back track to these times, a lot of people have not been able to keep up repayments on their mortgages and homelessness has become a booming issue. This homelessness has meant that there has been a small rise in the numbers of council houses being built. Another problem which is still ongoing in today’s society is peoples nutrition. In the 19th and 20th centuries people suffered from bad nutrition as they did not know about vitamins and nutrients and people were badly malnourished and underweight which added to many health problems such as rickets, and in today’s society we still have nutritional problems. Fast food and fatty foods are so easily accessible and people find them to be handier than cooking nutritious meals and so people are becoming increasingly overweight and many suffer from obesity. According to the World Health Organisation, in 2008 there was 1. 4 billion adults over 20 who were classified as obese and in 2011 there was over 40 million children suffering from obesity also. (WHO 2013) Free school meals for children were also introduced in 1906; these free meals are still available to some children today. They ensure that the children are getting the proper nutrients and vitamins that is necessary to encourage growth and to also help them concentrate and learn. The health and wellbeing of children was one of the main aspects of public health that the Ministry of Health were trying to protect, and in 1907 a school nurse was assigned to all schools, and her main role to begin with was to check the children’s heads for nits. The role of the school nurse then developed to carry out examinations on all aspects of the children’s health, growth and development. In 1911 National Insurance was first introduced. This new system meant that working people had a small amount taken out of their wages which was put into the health care system, and if the worker was to fall ill then they would be able to avail of free health care, this was only for the worker though and not their spouse or children. (bbc) The First World War was one of the key events in the 20th century that highlighted the poor health of people living in Britain. The war put in place a need for an army of healthy young men as recruits, but this proved hard. The recruits were sent to war malnourished, meaning that they did not last long, and if they suffered an injury they were not strong enough to live. As no one knew how long the war was going to last there was a concentration on the health of pregnant woman and young men’s, as these would be the military of the future if the war was to continue. There were not many hospitals available for the people who needed them and it was only the wealthy that had access to them, as there no health care service like we have today, and the people had to pay for their medical care. The military were starting to come back from the war so there was an expansion in the number of hospitals being built as the conditions were still very poor in Britain, but these were solely for the use of the military soldiers. The Prime Minister at the time, Lloyd George promised a ‘home fit for heroes’ in 1918 and so the government set out the building of half a million homes by 1933. (bbc) A year later in 1919 the Ministry of Health was set up to look after the sanitation, health care and disease as well as the training of doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists. Dental care at the time was a huge issue, due to the malnourishment, people’s teeth were very poor and dental care did not really exist especially for the poorer people in society. Malnutrition continued to be a huge public health concern up until the Second World War with the introduction of rationing. This was a huge change to people’s lives and was implemented by the Ministry of Food in 1940. Rationing meant that each person could only buy a fixed amount of certain foods each week, and you had to hand over coupons from the family’s ration book. This reason behind rationing was because most of the food consumed in the UK and Ireland were imported from other countries, and this war proved to cause problems to this happening. During this war planes were used to drop bombs on ships and quite often the ships importing the fresh foods were bombed and the food destroyed, so this new rationing idea meant that everyone was able to gain access to the same amounts of fresh foods. Rationing is a concept that is still widely used today throughout the world by the army soldiers. The use of planes to drop bombs also caused a lot of destruction to people’s homes, many of them being destroyed, sometimes whole towns or cities were destroyed. During these troubling times people were expecting for their homes to be bombed so the government put in place a scheme for the children to be sent to the country where it would be safer for them. This was organised through ‘billeting officers’ and the children’s new homes were called ‘billets’. The children went to school and lived together until the war was over. The destruction, as bad as it was, gave the cities the opportunities to rebuild their homes to a better standard. In 1941 the British government commissioned a report into the ways that Britain should be rebuilt. William Beveridge, the director of the London School of Economics, was put in charge of the rebuilding. His report which was published in 1942 identified that there were five giant evils which would have to be overcome, these included; squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease. The Beveridge report has since formed much of the social legislation that we use today. Beveridge wanted to create a ‘cradle to grave’ health care system. The working people and the employers would still pay national insurance and for the service to be sustained more jobs would have to be created. In 1948 the NHS which we still have to this day was established. The NHS was an ambitious plan to bring healthcare to all people regardless of their social class or wealth or gender, and the healthcare would be free at the point of delivery. This was the first time that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, opticians and dentists would all work together. (NHS 2012) The 20th and 21st centuries saw a huge decline in the number of infectious diseases mortalities, and an increased life expectancy. One of the main reasons for this was the discovery of antibiotics in 1929, and the use of these in the 1940’s showed their true potential. Immunizations also came into practice and people had a better understanding of foods, and what foods improved health all contributing factors to people having better health. The NHS is still working to improve the health of its service users and it is working with many researching companies to find cures for the new diseases  that are developing. Although it is a great concept which has been active for over 60 years, the NHS is under a lot of stain and financial pressure. Due to the economic downturn there is less people working and so there is less national insurance being paid so there the NHS has less funding to provide the outstanding services that it does to the UK for free. The doctors and nurses are under almost intolerable pressure, and this is due to cuts in hospital beds, growing admissions and staff shortages. On 24th February, the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast became under so much pressure in its emergency department that extra staff had to be called in to deal with the escalating number of people seeking treatment, at one point there was more than 100 people waiting. This does not conquer the goals that the NHS had initially set out to achieve in 1948.

How to Get into Georgetown: Admissions Requirements

Only 14.5% of applicants are admitted. How can you improve your odds of getting in? Located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institute of higher learning in the United States. The university offers undergraduate programs in five of its schools, including : Georgetown also offers several special programs, including a joint-degree program with the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University, a science and engineering program in which students receive both an A.B. degree from Georgetown and B.S. degree from Columbia in five years. Students may also apply to the Baker Scholars Program, founded by George F. Baker in 1973 to cultivate young business leaders, in their sophomore year. What does it take to get into this prestigious university? Read on to find out. Students must use Georgetown’s application to apply. According to the admissions department, it will take you approximately 15 minutes to fill out your basic information, which initiates the interview process (a representative will contact you to schedule your interview). Other required application materials include: Georgetown strongly recommends submitting the results of three SAT Subject Tests ; you should assume that this is a requirement except in very rare circumstances and choose tests that best correlate to your strengths and intended areas of study. You may also submit additional materials showcasing your music, theater, dance, and studio art talents. Of the 22,897 students who applied for a position in the class of 2022, 3,327 (14.5%) were admitted . This represents a record-low admissions rate for the university. Of the admitted students, 1,700 submitted enrollment deposits. Specific waitlist information is not available, although last year, the university only admitted students applying to the School of Nursing and Health Sciences from its waitlist. The breakdown of standardized test scores for admitted students by school is as follows: Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. As with most highly selective colleges and universities, a stellar academic record is a must in order to be admitted to Georgetown. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg, since many candidates have strong GPAs and standardized tests scores. Georgetown also values thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and strong character. The university was founded based on religious values; that doesn’t mean you must be Catholic to attend—many students aren’t—but you must demonstrate compassion, care, and strong character. That starts with your application. While it may seem tedious to fill out a separate application for one college, the adcom will notice the care and attention you’ve taken (or haven’t). Also, remember that all applicants are offered interviews , and you should take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate your character and personal attributes. Be sure to emphasize that you are intellectually curious and engaged by discussing personal projects you’ve undertaken, research you’ve conducted, or other activities in which you’ve engaged in and out of the classroom. Diversity is another element Georgetown weighs heavily in the admissions process. Consider its essay prompt : As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you. (1 page, single-spaced, or approximately 300-400 words depending on font size) This is an opportunity to demonstrate what makes you unique. Diversity does not just mean you come from an underrepresented minority background; it can also mean that you bring special talents, such as an interesting extracurricular or out-of-the-ordinary experience, to the class. While some schools within Georgetown have higher admissions rates and SAT scores than others, that doesn’t mean you’ll have a better chance of acceptance if you apply to one over another. Many of these schools are self-selecting, and the adcom will consider your qualities and demonstrated interests as they align with that school. Show the adcom that you are passionate about your future course of study by applying to the appropriate school. Before you apply, make sure your final list is well-balanced among safety, target, and reach colleges . This will increase your chances of being admitted to a good-fit school. Being denied admission is disappointing, but it’s a tough reality in college admissions. It’s important to take a step back and regroup. If you get rejected from Georgetown, here’s what you can do: Even if Georgetown was your top choice, chances are, you’ll find a way to make a college that did accept you work. College really is what you make of it, and if you put effort into adjusting to another school by joining clubs, working hard in your classes, and cultivating a social life, you’ll likely find that you can make a fulfilling college experience for yourself, even if you end up at a college that wasn’t your top choice. If you had your heart set on Georgetown or received bad news from the other colleges on your list, one option is to take a gap year and reapply next admissions cycle. Keep in mind that this is risky, and it’s often better to accept a spot at another college and take a gap year there. You can also consider transferring after you’ve matriculated elsewhere, although the acceptance rate for transfers is low ; in 2017, for example, 2,175 students who matriculated at other colleges applied for transfer, and 364 were accepted, for an admission rate of 17%. You must excel at your original college in order be accepted as a transfer student; the average college GPA for transfers was 3.83 in 2017. If you do decide to take a gap year, make sure you have a productive plan for the year. You might undertake a research project, volunteer, study to improve your SAT scores, or take classes non-matriculated at a local college.

Movie research final project Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research final project - Movie Review Example The killer would usually start taunting his victims through a telephone call befriending the victim and later being annoyed when the victim hangs up on him. He then attacks the helpless victim with several stabs until the victim dies. The movie was released in 1996. Regardless of Wes Craven's Scream, he represents historical events during 1996 and provides descriptions that apply today's adolescents' realities of social life and past culture 90's. It was in the 90s when technology was at its peak with the initiation of most people to personal computers, digital sounds, digital cellphones, microwave ovens and the like. Technology has become a personal issue. Communication was made swift and transportation an easy access. Even in remote places, people can be informed and up-to-date. These major events can be illustrated in the following incidents: In January 1996 particularly on the 5th "Yahya Ayyash, the "Engineer", the elusive mastermind behind a wave of Islamic suicide bombings against Israel, is killed in Gaza, apparently by a booby-trapped mobile phone." And on "Newspapers reported that Microsoft had struck deals with several computer makers that would give it a significant advantage the companies would not be allowed to use Windows." On December 16, "IBM announced on this day in 1996 it would stop selling computers that used that PowerPC chip and ran Windows NT. IBM, Motorola, and Apple had teamed up to challenge Intel Corporation's dominance in chips and Microsoft's near monopoly on operating systems." On the 17th "Intel Corporation and the Energy Department announced the development of a high-speed computer capable of performing more than one trillion calculations per second." Finally on December 26, "Six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey is found beaten and str angled in the basement of her family's Boulder, Colorado, home. The killing remains unsolved" (Rethinking History). [>>>I think this is enough, if you delete some more then you can no longer prove that there was indeed a technology uplift and it was used in connection with killings.] These two events, the killings and the booming of computer technology, are evident in Scream. There is the presence of intentional killing by two individuals to take it as a prank using technology to their advantage. The obvious use of a cellphone and the manipulation of the gadget in order for it to sound differently and distinct about just one type of voice. The computer is also given center stage as in the incident when Sidney could not use the telephone; she opted for the computer to send her message to 911. Although, there was only the use of VHS for movies, it was also reflecting the period because CDs, VCDs and DVDs came later. There were several intentional killings in 1996. The terrorists were using suicide bombers to make their message known

Degree Program Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Degree Program - Personal Statement Example Of equal importance is the Software Applications for Healthcare Professionals course. As technology continues to transform work processes, the information and technology skills will impart me with the current trends and operation of software in the medical sector. Furthermore, it will complement my innovative skills in solving any arising problems in medical data processing and transcription. Over and above this, the knowledge gained will enhance my data communication skills through the effective processing and transcribing of data to my fellow medical colleagues. On the other hand, the elective course on Health Care Delivery and Information Management will enhance my knowledge in the systematic processes in the collection, processing and storing of data pertaining to health care delivery. Moreover, I foresee the eventuality that the knowledge gained will enable me to solve problems pertaining to information management in health care centers that are increasingly burdened in maintain ing records. However, I do expect to encounter a bit of challenge with respect to the ‘Software Applications for Healthcare Professionals.’ There is the possibility of knowledge confusion and application mix up of the software learning modules. This is due to the variety of application software applications vital for healthcare professionals. Despite this challenge I am committed to pay sufficient attention, knowledge and inquisitiveness pertaining to any issue that may arise during the learning process. It is essential to note that not only one but most of my classmates chose the elective course on Healthcare Delivery and Information Management. This was of significant interest to me not because of the similarity in choice, but in reiterating its importance of it in advancing my career and

Lease and licence problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Lease and licence problem question - Essay Example Currently, Jeffrey has found himself with financial constrains, over and above, his marriage being under increased strain. He thinks of selling the property and moving away for sometimes. Two weeks ago, while his wife was away visiting his elderly mother and Peter was on a business trip in America, he found a buyer, David Matthews who was prepared to offer cash for quick sale. A licence is a contractual right to use a property particularly land that would otherwise be illegal. Conversely, a lease is an interest of land that is given by the lesser to a lessee for a defined period of time while granting exclusive possession. In light of this, it is clear that Jeffrey has the legal rights over the property at Georgetown, and hence has title to the property. Needless to mention, Jeffrey is among the people who have indefeasibility of title. According to property law, this means that Jeffrey is included in the title as the owner who has an indefeasible or unquestionable title of the property. Besides, the state guarantees the correctness of the information contained on the title and is, therefore, liable to provide compensation under assurance fund. Thus, legal interests are solely concerned with ownership of property as in the case of Jeffrey who has control that is associated with the ownership.1 With this regard, it is entirely challenging for his wife Alic e to claim any legal right for the property even though she is married to him. The fact that Alice moved into the property in 2005, and has continually spent a considerable amount of her savings in renovating the property to an extent of converting the top floor into an apartment, which Jeffrey later leases out to Peter, a businessman for five years, a situation that does not recognise her as an exclusive or shared possessor. Simply, Alice could only be recognised by Law, only if she was registered as one with ‘equitable interest’ to the property. This way

Evaluating Team Performance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluating Team Performance - Assignment Example In this evaluation both technical and interpersonal abilities of the team members were taken into consideration. One factor that is always of high importance when evaluating a cross-functional team is the expertise contribution of the members. The team was comprised of members of the marketing, accounting, sales, human resource management, public relations, technical, and engineering departments. All the members were expected to represent the concerns of their various departments with regard to the organization’s culture and potential changes (Stewart, 2006). All the members were able to bring in their expertise with all members basing their reasons on researches that were carried out with regard to the matter. The marketing department asserted that the culture should not change the public’s perception of the organization. As for the engineering department representatives, the most important thing was to make sure that the culture encourages a technical productivity of the organization. It is no doubt that at the end of the day all the departments’ perspectives were proper ly reviewed and an eventual conclusion reached (Dyer,Dyer & Dyer, 2013). When asked about the team’s goal, all the members were able to identify what the goals. This is helpful because it enables a team to work as a single unit with a single focus and goal. However, it is also notable that the team would not have been able to work together for a common purpose if they do not share the same opinion with regard to the group’s goal (West & Markiewicz, 2004). Therefore, the leader saw that it was appropriate to let all the members give their opinion about the goals of the team (Franz, 2012). Different members gave different opinions on how the goal will be reached. Some of the members suggested that the start-up style labs should be left to operate for a while so that they could observe the changes in organizational culture and whether there will be a necessity for any change in

Gypsy Fashion Deco Co. The Global Expansion Essay

Gypsy Fashion Deco Co. The Global Expansion - Essay Example The paper "Gypsy Fashion Deco Co. The Global Expansion" discovers the gypsy fashion deco co. and global expansion. GFDC started out as an experimental fashion company already applying its credo. With only a cutter, hi-speed sewer, a contractual bookkeeper and another contractual accountant, it launched a website maintained by an independent web-serving company. Demands grew in about six months so that GFDC had to set up and maintain its own website, as well as cater to its growing clientele. While in its first three months, there were only about two clothe items finished in a day, and there was only a weekly update of website, these have to be changed. Everyday, since it hired additional fashion purchaser, cutters and sewers, as well as a web designer and programmer, there are about 20 solo products made available in the website, so that everyday, the website need to be updated. GFDC was able to cope with this set up until global demands flooded the company. To maintain its ever-grow ing consumer market, GFDC had to set-up country branches, source out more skilled workers, both sewers and cutters, as well as purchasers and fashion designers in its major product destinations London, New York, Shanghai and the Middle East’s Dubai. The internet market had growing demands due to the expansion, and to remain competitive, global delivery and outsourcing became necessary. The management which had grown adept to the small-scale setting is suddenly faced with the dilemma of multifold expansion and to deliver., it has to adopt the enterprise architecture of its information technology system integrating the whole global expansion project into one working dynamic group. Identification of Major Enterprise Architecture Issues Organizational Issues: Organizational, Management, People, Culture Expansion of departments Inter-department cooperation Research and development Data, Information & Knowledge Issues: New system addressing intranet and internet work flow and sharing Standardized design Information Technology Issues: Ease of website update Website potential in attracting consumers Business Process, Policy & Procedure Issues: Corporate strategic plans Extended guiding principles Scope Environmental dynamics Goals and objectives Architecture Issues: Organization structure Business area structure Role players and actors Business rules and commitment Analysis of the Major Enterprise Architecture Issues Schekkerman (2005) acknowledges that enterprise architecture "is about understanding all of the different elements that go to make up the enterprise and how those elements inter-relate," facilitating factual and actual knowledge on the existence of the enterprise and everything that keeps it going. Raines (1997) likewise added that enterprise architecture "is the explicit description of the current and desired relationships among business and management process and information technology. It describes the target situation which the agency wishes to create and maintain by managing its IT portfolio." It was discussed further by Sheckkerman (2005) that by the end of this year (2006), Global 2000 organizations are already expected to have integrated holistic enterprise architecture, enterprise program management, enterprise strategy or planning, and information t

Painful Shoulder Medical Treatment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Painful Shoulder Medical Treatment - Case Study Example SH: The patient is a mother of two boys, the youngest being 7 years old. She is single and lives with the two boys and a younger sister. She is a business woman and travels to and from work daily on her motorcycle. She does not smoke or take alcohol.O/E: Looks stable and well oriented. She is however in pain but can walk in her own without support (Davies et al. 2011, p.6). She gives her own history,Head and Neck: NADTrunk: NADHands: slight bruising on the right palm. Patient was wearing riding gloves during the accident.  Right shoulder:Anterior Aspect:  Minimal swelling over the SC Joint, Clavicle, AC Joint and     Trapezius muscle, slight bruising with no obvious deformity, no visible wound.Bony tenderness noted over the SC Joint, Clavicle, AC Joint.  Ã‚  No bony tenderness over the Acromion Process, coracoid process, non - tender on deltoid muscle, pectoralis major and biceps muscleNerves: Regimental Badge Sign Tested-full sensation noted on deltoid muscle- Axillary, Br achial Plexus, Median, Ulnar and Radial nerve-sensation intact and compare to the left arm.Posterior Aspect:  No bruising or obvious deformity, no erythema or wound, skin intact compare to left shoulder.Slight Tenderness over the trapezius muscle, non-tender over the scapula, acromion process, Supraspinatus muscle, Infraspinatus muscle and Latissimus Muscle.Active Movement: Retraction-reduced and painful over the shoulderProtraction-reduced and painful over the shoulderElevation-reduced and painful over the shoulder

An assessment of business value of information technology in Literature review

An assessment of business value of information technology in organisations - Literature review Example There are more reasons to justify why it is essential to invest on Information technology, although other fail view Information Technology as a business venture that can pay off after some time (Carlos and Macada, 2012). This discussion will look at the relevant theories and models on IT business values, different views on Information Technology business value and effectiveness and efficiency of information systems to support decision making. In order to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of information systems on decision making a lot of factors must be put into consideration. Using of technical efficiency as a performance criterion when application of individual analytical occurs. Information technology contributions in different countries differ in magnitude from a production point of view due to increase and decrease of the countries technical efficiency. Spending on Information technology will not improve countries technical efficiency. Whether a country is developing o r not, is not a subject to look at in order for it to improve its technical efficiency in the field of information technology. Relevant use of theories and models and good decision makes it possible for a country to have an efficient and effective Information technology. ... Defining the substance of technology, how it changes its relation towards human practices or social structure, and how it emerges are addressed by Descriptive theories. The descriptive theories view that how much force it has in determining human practices or social structure, and how much it addresses the extent in which technology is autonomous substantively. Social construction of technology in connection to descriptive approach states that, technology does not necessarily determine human action; on the contrary it is the human actions that shape technology. Actor-network theory is also necessary theory in business IT. This theory addresses a heterogeneous network of non-humans and humans as similar interrelating actors. Technology acceptance model (TAM) is a well known model that relates to Information technology use and acceptance. This model was originally proposed by Davis in 1986. This theoretical model has continuously proven to be of great help because it predicts and expla ins user behavior of information technology. This model is also considered to be an influential extension of theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Heijden, 2000). Its mandate was to explain why a user rejects or accepts information technology by adapting theory of reasoned action. By the use of technology acceptance model one can menage to get the basis to trace how external forces influence attitude, belief, and intentions to use. There are two cognitive beliefs that are associated with technology acceptance model. These are perceived ease to use and perceived usefulness. According to technology acceptance model, one use of a technology system is manipulated either directly or indirectly by the user’s attitude, behavioral

A Study on the Impacts of Noise Barrier in Construction Site Communication Essay Example for Free

A Study on the Impacts of Noise Barrier in Construction Site Communication Essay Construction industry is a complex and risky of work, the people in construction industry should have a better understanding of the need to practice good communication to ensure the better work quality and performance with a good communication (Vasanthi R.Perumal and Abu Hassan Abu Bakar, 2011). Good communication enables the members of the project for archiving the centre goal where the construction project complete in time with expected budget. In construction industry, communication can be achieved through letters, drawings, symbols, signs, posters, and word for ensure the information able to send and receive by each other. With the good communication, the workers especially in construction site find it easily and greatly productive to work together. Instruction and order are given and they are carried out as expected once they are well understood and acted upon correctly. Hence the communication in construction site shall be in clear, concise, accurate and well-planned. A good communication can enable an organization in better of work quality and performance, and also in decision making. Besides, an organization can achieve a better relationship with each other without any misunderstanding and misconception. So, the organization will be successful in any project without problems arise due to the poor communication. Other than that, good communication will also bring some advantages (Paul, 2008), such as: Reduce conflict within an organization Stronger and better relationships between each other Improve the teamwork of an organization Stronger controlling and problem-solving Well coordinated work plan For instances, a good communication can benefit an organization for achieving better work quality and performance. Either in verbal or non verbal, communication should be practice well in an organization to prevent any misunderstanding or misconception occur. Problem Statement According to the BRE guidance on construction site communication (2010), UK construction industry cost at least  £20 billion to repair and reconstruct the incorrect work due to poor communication such as instructions or orders given incorrect, technical information not available and etc. Such defects occur resulted of the workers’ poor workmanship or misunderstood the instruction from site agent. One of the main factors of verbal communication is employment of foreign labour. According to Philida Schellekens Judith Smith (2004), define that most of the construction project will employ foreign labour as worker due to their low salary. Those foreign labours have their own native language, so they may not able to communicate with site agent and other Malaysian workers. Hence, it finds out that there is language barrier between site agents with foreign labours at construction site. Besides, according to Ravi Jain (2012), mentioned the construction site creates noise through the use of vehicles, construction equipment and power tools. Those noises can affect the verbal communication between the site agents with foreign labours. A negative personality such as impatient, distrust, bad temper, fear (Asma Zaineb, 2010) happen on workers may be a barrier for them to communicate with others either in verbal or non verbal communication. Since construction industries had involved so many workers that came from different country with different education level, different cultural and etc (Nurul Azita Binti Sallet et al, 2012). There will be a huge impact on communication will be occurred with different personalities. Aim and Objectives The aim of the research study is to identify the factors affecting the verbal communication between site agent and foreign labour at construction site. Whereas, the objectives will be the following, To identify the language barrier between site agent and foreign labour is a factor for verbal communication at construction site To identify the noise barrier at construction site is a factor for verbal communication at construction site To identify the personality barrier is a factor for verbal communication at construction site Hypothesis 1. Language barrier between site agent and foreign labour is a factor for verbal communication at construction site 2. Noise barrier at construction site is a factor for verbal communication at construction site 3. Personality barrier is a factor for verbal communication at construction site Scope of Study There are 4 main communication forms which are verbal communication, non-verbal communication, written communication and visual communication (Aarti R, 2011). Communication of information, messages, opinions, speech and thoughts can be made via different forms of modern communication media, like Internet, telephone and mobile. Besides, some of the basic ways of communication are by speaking, eye contact, sign language, body language, touch and singing. †¢ Verbal Communication Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language and speaking. Example: face to face communication, telephone, site meeting, etc †¢ Non Verbal Communication Non-verbal communication involves physical ways of communication, like, tone of the voice, touch, smell and body motion. Example: Short Message Service (SMS), Email, etc †¢ Written Communication Written communication form is writing the words which used for communication. Good written communication is essential for business purposes and practiced in many different languages. Example: Short Message Service (SMS), Email, etc †¢ Visual Communication Visual communication is visual display of information, like topography, photography, signs, symbols and designs. Example: Photo, Presentation Slide, etc In this research study, it focuses on verbal communication between two or more people at construction site. For the most part of the communications example, is between a site agent and foreign labour. This research study also will talk about factors that considered as barrier for good communication at construction site. Research Methodology Literature Review For literature review, journal articles and journal review were read up as much as possible to be cited in order to collect the useful data which were proved descriptively. This is a process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, summarizing and gathering information and data from book, article, journal, internet, newspaper, magazine and etc. All information relate to communication in construction site industry will be study and summarize in this research study. Questionnaire Survey A list of questions about the factors affects the verbal communication between site agent and foreign labours in construction site will be distributed to the respondents which are the parties involved in the construction site for more data and information for this research study. Questionnaire was designed in several sections and categories, the construction sites were randomly chosen and distributed in Kuala Lumpur. All the responses will be collected on individual basis and also a simple interview will conduct with respondents in respects of questionnaire earlier distributed. Definition of communication Communication is the interaction between two or above people and the interaction may in various form such as body motion, speaking, tone of the voice, touch and etc (Paul, 2008). It is the process of transmitting and receiving this information. A common objectives hardly to get done in a work place unless people able to share their ideas and information with others in a way to produce a common understanding. A successful communication in the workplace environment is very important. An employer shall create a good working situation which helps to increase the quality of work and increase the ensure quality control while the employee, it allows personal growth and development and contributes to satisfaction on the job. What is verbal communication? All humans need to interact. There are 4 main communication forms which are verbal communication, non-verbal communication, written communication and visual communication (Aarti R, 2011). The most obvious and common form of communication is verbal communication. Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language and speaking and it is one way for people to communicate face to face. According to Beth Lee (2010), verbal communication involves using speech to exchange information with others. It is generally defined as spoken language. Tone, enunciation, pauses, loudness, emphasis, word choice, these can all be used while speaking to enhance the spoken word. As a type of face-to-face communication, body language and different tones play an important role, it may cause greater impact upon the listener than informational content. For an example, a simple phrase like, You did a wonderful job may implicate different meanings and intentions. A genuine and sincere tone may suggest praise a nd commendation, but a mocking tone can be offensive and sarcastic.

Organisations and People Management Report Nationwide Building Society

Organisations and People Management Report Nationwide Building Society Nationwide is Worlds largest Building Society and one of the major players in the U.K. banking sector. Having one of the seven group members as an employee of Nationwide Building Society, this management report has been developed to critically evaluate certain aspects of Nationwide. In this report, we have wished to brief our readers about Nationwides business strategy, structure, culture, management and leadership. This will be followed by a conclusion of the groups review about the chosen organization and finally certain recommendations will be made. Index Contents Page 1. Introduction a. Terms of reference 3 b. Background 3 2. Methods a. Data collection methods 4 b. Issues and challenges 4 c. Analysis 4 3. Results a. Overview of corporate strategy business goals 5 b. Explanation of organisational structure 8 c. Analysis of organisational culture 11 d. Critical evaluation of Management Leadership practices 14 4. To end with a. SWOT analysis 17 b. Recommendations 18 c. Conclusions 18 5. References 20 6. Appendix-1 22 7. Appendix-2 23 8. Appendix-3 24 Organisations People Management Report Introduction Terms of reference: This report aims at providing an overview of Nationwide Building Society and critically evaluates its business strategy, structure, culture, leadership and management. The findings shall present some key features of the organization. Some recommendations provided at the end shall help the management of Nationwide to improve certain practices. Background: Nationwide Building Society, started its journey back in 1946 as carrying the name Provident Union Building Society in Ramsbury, Wiltshire, in 1848 it moved in Northampton as the Northampton Town and Country Freehold Land Society and finally in London as Co-operative Permanent Building society in 1884. Thriving on well-over 160 years glorious history and over hundred mergers, it has become the third largest mortgage provider and second largest savings provider in the UK. More significantly, Nationwide is the largest building society in the world (History (Nationwide Building Society, 2010)). Today Nationwides portfolio consists of over fourteen million customers, total assets over  £200 billion and over 900 outlets countrywide. Being the largest building society in the world (Corporate Responsibility report, 2008/09) Nationwide also thrives with its mutual heritage which made the enterprise unique among other financial industries in the marketplace. The CEO, Graham Beale described Nationwide Building Society in the following way in Corporate Responsibility report (2008/09, p.2): Being a building society makes us fundamentally different from the big banks we compete with. We dont have shareholders, we are owned by our members. So you set our agenda. Methods Data collection methods: To make this venture less difficult, we had an early start with regular group meetings every Wednesday 4pm at room M5 or Main Arts building. Minutes for each meet were maintained. In-depth qualitative and few quantitative data were obtained through a personal interview with a senior Branch Manager, personal observation (and one of our group members personal experiences as a nationwide employee), internet and company publications. Theory and ideas were culled from several books, journals and websites. Issues and challenges: This report is the product of combined efforts of all our hearts and minds and has been framed within a month. Due to limited time and fund, we could gain access to mostly branch level information. After a struggle for appointment, we had been able to explore Nationwide through a senior Branch Manager at local branch. No sensitive questions were asked and no rules were violated during the research process. Analysis: A pure qualitative analysis has been made with a combination of exploratory and descriptive approach using the following process suggested by Saunders et al (2009, p. 489-490) Summarizing : condensation of meanings Categorization : grouping of meanings Structuring: Ordering of meanings using narrative. Results Missions: To describe companys mission large companies publish a statement called mission statement which comprises of organisations purpose and general direction that they are going to follow, its guiding values, principals and goals (Lynch, 2000). Adcock et al. (1995, p.298) provide a comprehensive description on business organisations mission statement which as follows: A mission statement indicates how that organisation intends to fulfil main business objectives while recognising the legitimate interests of other stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities in which the organisation operates. Hence the mission statement carries a significant value for the organisation in terms of companys business, service, and goals; it has to be dynamic, transparent and easy to understand by all classes of stakeholders, otherwise it could create a confusion among colleagues and customers alike (Trapp, 1999). In light of above argument Nationwides mission statement is below: As a UK based mutual we exist solely for the benefit of our members. We help them and their families meet their financial needs in a sustainable, responsible and secure way as we have done since 1846, in a manner that is open, honest, and fair. (Corporate Responsibility report, 2008/09, p4) Since a financial organisation, Nationwide clearly visualizes its mission by aforementioned statement; which is dynamic, transparent and easily understandable to all; especially about its history (1846), organisation structure (mutual), services (financial needs), qualities (sustainable, responsible and secure), accountability (members) and business strategy (open, honest and fair) and goal (meeting customers financial needs). Nationwides intention is not only generating asset and profit from the business, but also sharing its profit and providing world class financial services to better off its customers in an open, honest, fair and amicable atmosphere; where customers feel valued and secured to conduct their financial businesses. Goals: Mullins (2002, p126) describes the goals of an organisation are the reason for its existence. The activities of the organisation are directed to the attainment of its goals. A goal is a future expectation, some desired future state. It is something the organisation is striving to accomplish. Goals can be described number of ways; such as, the overall purposes of an organisation, the execution of specific requirements, and so on. The core difference between functions and goals of an organisation is, goals are more specific and they are determined by the inputs and outputs of that organisation. Goals can also be named as objectives that every organisation tends to achieve (Mullins, 2002). Goals create a number of functions for the organisation to accomplish. Such as firstly, goals provide a certain standard in organisational structure which help the staff-members to figure out the way of performing their necessary activities, and also help the management to find out the right direction of planning and decision-making towards success. Secondly, goals help to determine the technology that will be compatible with organisations structure to perform all activities securely and smoothly. Thirdly, goals can help reward systems to motivate and drive staff-members of the organisation to accomplish their individual and group tasks. Finally, goals can represent the organisation to the external clients; can evaluate the organisation for further improvement (products and services); also can help to set objectives as well as policies for the organisation (Kast and Rosenzweig, 1985). Being a financial organisation, Nationwide sets up its corporate goals on annual basis (April to following years March). Every year they run a seminar, called Employee Corporate Cascade to indicate corporate plans and goals. According to Employee Corporate Cascade conference presentation (2010) Nationwide declared its business goals based on customer, market positioning, income, profitability, efficiency, capital and liquidity which are as follows: Becoming number-one in customer service satisfaction position; Keeping position on as third largest mortgage and savings provider, obtaining 10% of main current account and 5% of other products provider in the whole UK retail banking market and generating profit contribution of  £50m+ for each business line; Generating Non-margin profit by 50%; Raising  £1bn+ profit in year 2010/11; Gaining cost income ratio 49%; Maintaining core tier1 (a regulation implemented by Bank for International Settlements on banks capital adequacy requirement to continue its business) solvency ratio of 12% or more. Comply with Individual Liquidity Guidance. Above goals are clearly drawing a sketch on Nationwides future and desired expectations; which will assist the management to frame out proper business strategies towards achieving its goals. Business strategy: According to Huczynski and Buchanan (2007, p 524), the direction in which an organisation moves is influenced by the decisions that are made about its strategy. Business strategy is a part of the corporate strategy of the company which related to companys business divisions. Tilles (1969) discuses the importance of having an explicit business strategy to expand the company, he explains without having a certain strategy it is difficult to integrate co-ordinated action with industrial effort. In addition, there are number of other good reasons for company to have an explicit business strategy. Firstly, for making people to or-ordinate each-other to achieve goals with mutual effort; secondly, for changing companys environmental conditions (Mullins, 2002). Without a proper business strategy the company runs like a ship without a captain; nobody knows where to go and what to do. In that situation members of the company may start working cross-purposes; top management may not be able to communicate with lower management who is suppose to drive the employees to set up their target towards the goal. If company continues in absence of a proper business strategy, the survival of that company may be in question. However creative effort is necessary to create a strategy; moreover, to make a strategy successful it may require adapting different methods in behaviour as well as basic change in the way of interactions among managers (Johnson and Scholes, 1998). Being the largest building society in the world, Nationwide is always well ahead with its business strategy which is one of the main instruments of its ongoing glorious success. Nationwides vision is to plan ahead for longer period rather than shorter term, because in short period of time the implementation of new strategy may not acquire proper success. However, Nationwides managers follow a flexible attitude in their business strategy; as they may amend the strategy if necessary. According to Corporate Responsibility report, 2008/09, in September 2009, Nationwide has set up its three years business strategy which includes three core strands. Such as: becoming the full service provider (for, mortgages, lending, savings, consumer banking, insurance, investments, protection and wealth planning); becoming a challenger brand in the U.K. financial market; offering traditional mutual (member-oriented) delivery model in business. From above discussion, it is tangible that Nationwides business strategy is absolutely explicit about what they want to achieve; which helps managers and employees to plan towards its goals and acquiring the successes accordingly. Organisational Structure Various academic literatures have defined the term organizational structure in various ways: As a framework in which organizations achieve their goals or as a division of activities in an organization and how they can be coordinated. However despite these varying views, most cooperate organizations will agree that structures exits to maintain procedures. According to (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007, p.446)the definition of a structure is a formal system of task and reporting relationship that control, coordinates and motivates employees so that they work together to achieve organizational goals. Mullins (2002, p.530) also defines it as the pattern of relationships among positions in the organization and among members of the organization. Structure makes possible the application of the process of management and creates a framework of order and command to which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed and controlled. Martinsons and Martinsons (1994) say ther e are three types of organizational structure; Functional, Divisional and Matrix Organizational Structure, in which one of these structures is relevant to Nationwide. Functional Structure: This structure depends on groups functions that are present in an organization. This type of structure originates from the beaucratic structure. It is most affective when there is division of work in the organization. Whats more this kind of structure creates the environment for specialization which helps in the functional areas and which helps to smoothen the progress of synchronization among its members (Martinsons and Martinsons, 1994). Divisional Structure: It is adopted by firms when they want to broaden their business and spread their product line. Based upon its different product or market, the company divides into separate units. Pascale (1990) explains the company breaks upon its operations into manageable units or little companies, which then operates under a mechanistic structure. Matrix Structure: This employs both the functional and divisional type of structures allowing a downwards control of its functional departments and coordination of its department. Since its a hybrid of two structures, it has two lines of authority with employees reporting to two bosses. (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007) Organizational structure helps in identifying the pattern of communication in an organization. The existence of a structure communicates the rules and regulations to the employees, as they are informed as to what is required of them in relation to their jobs. It also makes clear the rewards that are available to deserving employees, in terms of promotion etc. as well as elaborating the goals and objectives of the organization. Secondly, structures also identify authority and responsibilities associated with it by clarifying who makes the decision and who is accountable to whom. Decision making and information sharing is effectively carried out with the appropriate structures in place. When decisions are taken from top management, it is easily dropped down to the lower level management. In the same way the feedback from employees and lower levels easily get back to top management, which leads to job satisfaction. Finally, when the right organizational structure is implemented, it serves as a source of competitive advantage that can accrue economic efficiency and productivity for the organization. As rightly said by Drucker (1989, p.223) Good organization structure does not by itself produce good performance. But a poor organizational structure make good performance impossible, no matter how good individual managers may beà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.to improve organizational structure there for improve performance. Nationwide as an organization believes and recognizes the need to have a good structure to increase productivity and profitability. This is captured in Nationwide Chief Executives annual meeting report. There is no doubt that strong management and sound leadership really make a difference and are important qualities to get right in an executive team. Having the right structure in place to support the delivery of our corporate plan is critically important to our success (Corporate Responsibility Report, 2008/09). Please see Appendix-1 2 for full Organizational Structure Chart and current Management Structure of Nationwide. Nationwide is a mutual society, with its Headquarters in the U.K. It is one of the largest financial companies which deal with a number of profitable products with different customers. Nationwide as an organization implements the Functional form of structure. In this structure there are a number of boards of directors who play key role in the management of Nationwide, but do not interfere in the day to day activities of the society. They deal with major issues concerning Nationwide when it is deemed necessary. However, when it comes to the day to day running of Nationwide the Chief Executive is the one with such responsibility, he occupies the highest position in the hierarchy, with a number of executive directors who are accountable to him. They are, Chris Rhodes (Executive Director Group Product Marketing), Matthew Wyles (Executive Director Group Distribution), David Rigney (Executive Director Group Operations), Mark Remison (Executive Director Group Finance), Tony Prestedge (Executive Director Group Development) and Maxine Taylor (Divisional Director Corporate Affairs) (Management (Nationwide Building Society, 2010)). Beneath these departments are sub units, however attention will be given to the Executive Director and Group Distribution Department and its sub units, since the structure is the same for the various departments. This department has the Divisional Director who operates Branch Network, with assistance of the Regional Directors, Area Directors, District sales Managers and Branch Managers. All work at different levels of the hierarchy as represented by the organizational chart in Appendix-1. This enables Nationwide to assess how well these sub units perform; and if performance doesnt show satisfactory, managers can decide to take right approaches that need to be taken. Functions of key Departments: The Cooperate office headed by Maxine Taylor have the responsibilities of ensuring Nationwides vision, its strategy, goals, values and plans so that it workers can be motivated to give of their best performance. In its media relation and member engagements, it is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the name and image of Nationwide is well managed in the media, as Nationwide is U.Ks largest building society. This department also manages the Nationwide Foundation charity for the community, as it is committed in making a difference to peoples life. Nationwides Group Finance and Risk with Mark Rennison as the Executive Director are keen to ensuring that their financial objectives are achieved within the set time frame. This they do by ensuring that the Society performs favorably in the financial market and also managing any risk that may arise. They also look out for opportunities such as partnership, merger, and acquisition by investigating the financial benefits before any corporate decisions are taken. Division of Labor and Communication: In Nationwide each department has its own policies to control its day to day activities, even though rules are regulated from the top of the hierarchy. This enables the various managers to take charge of their departments, with the subordinates in those departments accountable to them. This type of structure allows the different departments to function independently but then reports directly to the CEO. The structure also enhances the communication pattern in Nationwide by enabling the various departments at all levels to engage in decision making and problem solving process. Coordination: In Nationwide, each department has given the autonomy to carry out its activities. However, each director in his given department is responsible for coordinating these various activities in his/her department in order to be productive. Nationwide has the Group Product and Marketing Department headed by Chris Rhodes. This department has the sole responsibility of developing products that will add value and meet the needs and expectations of their customers; thus the department needs to coordinate the various activities of its sub units .i.e. Banking, Lending, Investment, Insurance, Business Strategy Marketing Division in a harmonious manner, to achieve its departmental goals.. Organizational Culture For all of the enterprises the organizational culture has been regarded as one of the core competitiveness of corporation. It plays an important role in the process of construction and development of enterprises. As a rising management concept, the organizational culture can determine and influence the behavior of their workforce, members and visitors. Distinctive ethos of enterprises which include the values, beliefs and various patterns of behavior that forms in a long-term development of corporation. It endows the enterprises with vital force which can be a basic element that makes corporation survive, develop and become stronger in the future. However, the meanings of organizational culture may very in different enterprises. Generally, organizational culture can be defined as the collection of relatively uniform and enduring values, beliefs, customs, traditions and practices; which are shared by an organizations members, learned by new recruits and transmitted from one generation of employees to the next (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007, p. 623). Additionally, in Scheins (1985) Three Levels of Culture theory, the organizational culture can be considered from three levels which include the following steps: Surface manifestation of culture: The surface manifestation of culture is a visible form of culture which can be seen, heard or felt (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007, p. 625). For instance, the visible form of culture can be regarded as the organizational structure, system, and procedure which can be a norm of organization to condition or influence the behavior of employees. As the most reachable aspect that can be observed by people, the surface manifestation of culture can also help enterprises to transmit a message to their members, visitors and customers by the operating direction, the societal image and the belief of the organization (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007). In the case of Nationwide, the surface manifestation of culture can be reflected by their operating direction. Nationwide offers products and services including savings, current accounts, loans, mortgages, insurance and so on, which belongs to banking and financial services culture. Moreover, being a mutual organization, Nationwide has its particular corporate banking and financial culture which has been reflected in its aforementioned mission statement. Therefore, the core element which makes Nationwide quite different from any other banking organizations is the meaning of the members. The meaning of members can be explained as that once a person opens an account, he or she becomes the member of Nationwide. Hence Nationwide always considers its customers first due to its mutuality model because Nationwide does not have any shareholder and is oriented by its members. Therefore the goal of its operation is to generate profit and share that profit among the members offering world-class service, cheaper rate on borrowing, more return in investment and so on. According to the chart-1, it is tangible that Nationwides culture based on its CR strategy which comprises of four core elements. Such as, first: improving customers financial capability and become a responsible lender; second: supporting, helping and encouraging members in housing; third: implementing ethical choice in business to save environment, in particular reducing carbon foo tprint; fourth: engaging employees and members to support communities. Chart-1: Nationwides Corporate Responsibility Strategy The corporate values: The corporate values are the core of enterprise culture. It can be defined as operating philosophies or principles that guide enterprises internal conducts as well as its relationship with the external world. Core values are often shown in the mission statement. Based on Scheins (1985) three levels of culture, organizational values have been deemed as the second level which comprises of all sorts of public advocacy values; including mission, purpose, behaviors and standards which support the surface manifestation level. In addition, Peters and Waterman (1982) pointed out that values always combine with enterprise success and many relevant important elements which are staffs, skills, style and strategy. At the same time, values are offered a general direction for all the staffs and affect their behaviors. At Nationwide, one of the specific features is its mutuality. A mutual organization is based on the principle of mutuality. Unlike the co-operative society, members in mutual organization usually do not contribute any fund to the corporate directly; nevertheless the members derive their rights towards profits. Over 160 years of development, Nationwide has become a powerful society. Due to modern mutuality, it forms its unique traditional values to the customers. Banks pay back millions to their shareholders, where as Nationwide shares millions with its customers. Nationwide operates its strong organizational culture called Putting customers first which is based on five distinct values (Corporate Responsibility Report, 2008/09): Open: The Company is an inclusive organization membership that is open to all, and all of their members have a say in how the company run. Nationwide arranges the annual general meeting (AGM) every year which ask for members to take part to express their opinion. Each member can do this by voting on a series of issues. Fair: Nationwide treats customers fairly by offering better rewards those who entrust company with more of their businesses. Responsible: Nationwides business model is low risk, stable and sustainable. They safeguard customers money and data at all times. Unlike traditional business model of investment banks, Nationwide pursuits of low risk and stable in the process of development. Committed: Going the extra mile and taking level best care of customers are traditions of Nationwide. Nationwide always keep its promises, In Corporate Responsibility Report 2008/09, CEO, Graham Beale mentioned we say what we are going to do and then do it. Adult to adult: Nationwide believe in adult relationships. They dont patronize, rather they treat people as equal. Due to the modern mutual with values, customers are also owners who always reserve some special rights, notably the voting right. These are rights that people dont have if they are only customers of other ordinary bank. Customers in Nationwide have the opportunity to assist shaping how Nationwide to run. Each customer can observe whether Nationwide is treating customers equally and offers fairness, low risk, stability, sustainability in its products and services. The core value is obviously that putting customers first in Nationwide. Organizational Management Business Dictionary (2010) defines Management as Organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives. It includes the functions of POSDCORB (Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordinating, Reporting and Budgeting) and also managing the organizational culture and structure discussed previously. Often seen as one of the factor of production, the approach to management adopted differs with the size and function of the organization. Except the military and a few government and private bodies, most companies today are following the modern approach to management due to the various drawbacks of traditional management style like strict result orientation, use of fear force to get the work done, no care or importance given to employees interests, well-being and so on. Now the companies understand that the basic function of management of any service organization like a bank revolves rou nd the well being of the human resources both the officers and workmen staff  working within. (Sen Gupta, 2009) Banking is one of the most prominent among the 12 services classified under the services definition of GATS (General Agreement on Trade of Services). Nationwide certainly has a good hand over banking and being a large sized Building Society, its day-to-day management is primarily in the hands of the senior management team along with a large number of committees all under the power of the Board of Directors. The policies formulated by this Board of directors are implemented by the Chief Executive. With Centralized decision making in place, Nationwide takes good care of its employees and makes sure that they retain the best ones permanently. (Read Bolton and Gold, 1995, Career management at Nationwide Building Society using a soft systems approach.) Simple motivational techniques like praising the employees for the job saying well done; providing training when the performance is not satisfactory; offering good working conditions and facilities; running employee welfare programs; sendin g  £30 as Christmas surprise gift to every employee; and even a simple thank you makes a considerable difference in their performance. Another factor influencing the performance of a building society is market competition which has intensified over time especially in terms of savings and mortgages. Snape, et al. (1993) suggested the integration of business strategy and human resource strategy as a solution to this problem. They also mentioned that a more dynamic market, with a stronger emphasis on sales performance, placed new demands on employees, and many societies responded by espousing the ideals of human resource management. Bartel (2000) in her study confirms that Human resource management related actions have the potential to improve branch level performance in banking industry, but concludes by saying that even though all managers in a bank are given a formal set of human resource policies, they appear to have considerable discretion in their application. A lot of organizational performance also depends on the type of leader; his practices and they way groups are made and function. Groups in Nationwide: According to Nationwide Corporate Responsibility Report, 2008-09, Nationwide is classified into a large number of groups ranging from Branch Network, Intermediary Sales and Corporate Accounts, Business Planning and Research, Internet Channels, Telephone Channels, Channel Integration, Integration and Operations, Regional Brands and Regional Brands Branch Network. The Product and Marketing Division works in close liaison with these teams to build a high performance culture as the teams pull out all the stops to deliver an outstanding customer experience. These teams work in isolation towards achieving vital synergies that lead to significant reduction in their costs and improvement in sales performance. Leadership Business Dictionary (2010) def

Business and Marketing Analysis Techniques

Business and Marketing Analysis Techniques Business strategy involves seeking a position within an environment or industry that generates a sustainable competitive advantage (implying that a diversified company should have as many business strategies as it has businesses) Analysing Macro Environmental Factors: There are many factors that will effect the strategies and decisions of managers of any organisation. Tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic change, etc are some of the examples. To help analyse these factors, we can categorise these micro environmental factors using PESTEL model. PESTEL abbreviates Political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. Political Factors: These refer to government policy such as the degree of intervention in the economy. What goods and services does a government want to provide? To what extent does it believe in subsidising firms? What are its priorities in terms of business support? Etc Economical Factors: These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates etc. Social Factors: Changes in social trends can impact on the demand for a firms products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. For example, in UK, the population has been ageing. This has increased the costs for firms who are committed to pension payments for their employees because their staff are living longer. Technological factors: Technology is growing very fast nowadays. New and fast machineries are introduced every now and then. New technologies create new products and new processes. Technology can reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organisations providing the products. Environmental factors:Â  Environmental factors include weather and climate change in macro factors. Change in climate, temperature can impact on many industries. These can benefit one industry and can make other industry down at the same time. For example in hot sunny days, people love to go out and visit beaches instead of going to restaurants and places like them. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. Legal Factors: These are related to the legal environment in which firms operate. The introduction of age discrimination and disability discrimination legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and greater requirements for firms to recycle are examples of relatively recent laws that affect an organisations actions. LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS: Generally, the model assumes that industry growth follows an S shaped curve. The flat introductory phase reflects the problems of establishing the new product. Once proven, growth becomes explosive until market saturation is reached. Sales now are limited by the rate of replacement sales and the rate of growth of the population in the market. Eventually the industry will come under pressure from newer technologies and substitute products with superior price performance. There are four stages in this model. i.e. introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage. In introduction stage, Pioneering firms often after considerable investment and repeated failures, introduce products based on a new technology. Costs tend to be high, and quality tends to be low because of lack of economies of scale or manufacturing experience and the product itself will be very basic. In growth stage, a dominant technology begins to emerge, and competitors standardise around it. There is likelihood of capacity shortages although costs and prices fall as standardisation and the adoption of large scale manufacturing makes possible economies of scale. At maturity stage, Overcapacity begins to emerge in the industry, products differentiation declines as technological know-how becomes widely shared, and price competition intensifies. Consolidation occurs within the industry as weaker firms are acquired by stronger ones. Sales to less developed markets, and the t ransfer of production to lower labour cost economies accelerates. In decline stage, The industry comes under pressure from new technologies offering superior performance, although this may be reduced by factors such as high price and switching costs associated with the new technology. Price wars erupt as the surviving firms fight for market share in a declining market, and exits from the industry, as well as consolidation within the industry, becomes more likely. Analysing Micro Environmental Factors: The micro environment consists of stakeholders who are directly or indirectly linked with any business. For example customers, consumers, suppliers, shareholders etc. Suppliers: Suppliers are major pillars or any business as they provide all the materials essential for any business. Big deal with suppliers is that can they provide high quality products at low price. Can they do this reliably? Have they got the flexibility to respond to a firms demands? What is the bargaining power of these suppliers? How dependent is the firm on them? Does their approach to their staff and resources fit with your ethics? Firms must decide on issues such as who to use to supply them, on the responsibility it takes for these suppliers and on the terms and conditions it adopts. Some firms take quite an aggressive attitude towards their suppliers by trying to push down the prices and delay payments. Others view the relationship more as a partnership in which they are working together with suppliers and that by helping each other both can benefit. The importance of suppliers can be seen if things go wrong. Distributors: Distributors job is to deliver your product to market place where it can be sell easily. Imagine you sell shampoo what you need to sell this is to get it on the shelves in the leading chemists and supermarkets but this means moving someone elses products off the shelves! So the challenge is to get stores to stock your products; this may be achieved by good negotiating skills and offering appropriate incentives. The distributors used will determine the final price of the product and how it is presented to the end customer. When selling via retailers, for example, the retailer has control over where the products are displayed, how they are priced and how much they are promoted in-store. Customers: Customers are key to sales. Managers must keep the needs of customers in their mind and try to anticipate how these will develop so that they can meet these requirements effectively now and in the future. To help understand their customers firms are increasingly trying to gather information on them through mechanisms such as loyalty cards. By gathering data on shopping patterns and matching this to data on the individual shoppers firms can build up detailed pictures of their buyers and then offer them appropriate deals. Competition: The success and behaviour of any business will depend on the degree of competition in its market. In some markets one firm is dominant. This is called a monopoly. If you are in a monopoly position this may allow you to exploit the consumer with relatively high prices (assuming your position is protected in some way) and you may be able to offer an inferior service if customers have no other choices. In other markets a few firms dominate; this type of market structure is called an oligopoly. In oligopolistic markets there is a high degree of interdependence and so firms will think carefully how their rivals might react to any actions they take. Key Stakeholders, Their Needs Expectations: Key stakeholders of a business are: Employees Customers, suppliers and contractors Shareholders Investors Communities Government Employees: are the major stakeholders of a business as they are strongly linked with the business. They want to work in a place where they can meet their personal needs and wants. Leaders who create job assignments, work environments, and visions help employees be both competent and committed to their work. Customers: want leaders to build compelling products and services so that they can trust and when they do, customers will give share of wallet. Customers are key to sales. Especially in fast food industries like Burger King, we ( employees ) have been instructed to focus on quality service and food. Customers should be satisfied at any cost because without them, business is nothing. Suppliers and contractors want their loyal concern with payment of goods and profit respectively. Shareholders and Investors: are those who bought companys share and are part of ownership in the company. They are concern with maximum outcome in terms of cash from profit. Investors are those who invest their money into the business as capital to earn their share from the profit. Investors want leaders to keep their promises, develop a compelling growth strategy, align core competencies to the strategy and then to ensure that people are committed to delivering on these premises. Communities and Government: Communities want leaders to build organizations that are socially responsible, through how they treat the environment and how they serve the larger community. Government are linked with business as to start a business, licence is required and government issue licence. And from the profit gained by a company, a percentage of profit goes to government in terms of tax which is used to build infrastructures etc. C) SUMMARY: The Burger King Corporation (BKC) was founded in 1954 in Miami by James Mc Lamore and David Edgerton. Following this, the famous Whopper sandwich was introduced in 1957 and it quickly became one of the best-known sandwiches in the world. Today, with the corporations brand promise: Have it your way, there are 221,184 possible ways to order a Whopper sandwich around the world. Burger King now operates more than 11,300 restaurants in approximately 70 countries. Food is necessary for humans to survive, but the wastes, chemical by-products, and inefficiencies in its production can have an immense impact on the environment. People demand perfect inexpensive year round food, which increases the use of pesticides, herbicides, and preservatives depleting the precious ozone, contributing to global warming, and polluting our lakes and streams. To help protecting all the dangerous fumes and chemicals, Burger King is doing its best. To help prevent contamination and other dangerous things, there are separate containers for different things. Strategy is affected by major changes taking place in the environment and for those changes, strategy has to be change accordingly in order to stay in business stream. Some change in micro environmental factors will affect strategy in different ways. If business is losing customers then many strategies can be applied depending on the level of business loss. Prices of product can be decreased, or distribution of vouchers etc. One of Burger Kings most important tasks is to ensure that the business is continually meeting its customers needs. In order to achieve this, the organisation has a research and development team dedicated to product improvement. Its mono is HAVE IT YOUR WAY. It means that customers can have their food the way they want, with or without, more or less of anything in their food. THREE TOOLS TO ANALYSE, SUMMARISE AND EVALUATE EFFECTS OF CURRENT BUSINESS PLAN POSITION OF THE ORGANISATION IN CURRENT MARKET COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF ORGANISATION PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS The competitive structure of a company can be analysed by Porters five forces analysis. It analyse the attractiveness of a company within the market. Porters five forces model is: Likelihood of new entry: it means that the extents to which barriers to entry exist. The likelihood of entering a market would be lower if: The entry cost are high There are major advantages for those firms which are already operating in market because of experience Government policies prevent entry or makes it more difficult Existing brands have high level of loyalty Power of buyers: The stronger the power of buyers in an industry the more likely it is that they will be able to force down prices and reduce the profits of firms that provide the product. Buyer power will be higher if There are few or many buyer of the product The buyers can easily switch to other products provided high quality in low price Power of suppliers: The stronger the power of suppliers in an industry the more difficult it is for firms within that sector to make a profit because suppliers can determine the terms and conditions on which business is conducted. Suppliers will be more powerful if they are less in number and the supplier can threaten to buy the firm so it is a stronger negotiation position. Degree of rivalry: This measures the degree of competition between existing firms. The higher the degree of rivalry the more difficult it is for existing firms to generate high profits. Rivalry will be higher if there are large numbers of similar sized firm, the costs of leaving the industry are high, and there is little brand loyalty so customer are likely to switch easily between products. Substitute threat: This measures the ease with which buyers can switch to another product that does the same thing e.g. aluminium cans rather than glass or plastic bottles. The ease of switching depends on what costs would be involved. Using Porters model, firms can generate high profit if the industry is: Difficult to enter There is limited rivalry Buyers are relatively weak Suppliers are relatively weak There are few substitutes BOSTON MATRIX: The Boston Matrix model is a tool for assessing existing and development products in terms of their market potential, and thereby implying strategic action for products and services in each category. Cash Cow: The rather crude metaphor is based on the idea of milking the returns from previous investments which established good distribution and market share for the product. Products in this quadrant need maintenance and protection activity, together with good cost management, not growth effort, because there is little or no additional growth available. Dog: this is that product or service of a company which has low presence in market. There is no point of developing goods and services in this quadrant. Most of the companies discontinue their product which they think fall under this quadrant. Businesses that have been starved or denied development find themselves with a high or entire proportion of their products or services in this quadrant, which is obviously not very funny at all, except to the competitors. Problem Child: These are products which have a big and growing market potential, but existing low market share, normally because they are new products, or the application has not been spotted and acted upon yet. New business development and project management principle are required here to ensure that these products potential can be realised and disasters avoided. This is likely to be an area of business that is quite competitive, where the pioneers take the risks in the hope of securing good early distribution arrangements, image, reputation and market share. Rising Star: star products, are those which have good market share in a strong and growing market. As a product moves into this category it is commonly known as a rising star. When a market is strong and still growing, competition is not yet fully established. Demand is strong; saturation or over-supply do not exists, and so pricing is relatively unhindered. SWOT ANALYSIS: To determine what a companys strategy should be, the managers must consider the internal strength and weaknesses of their company and compare them with external opportunities and threat. This process is known as SWOT analysis. Strengths: are internal factors which a firm may build on to develop a strategy. They may include: Marketing strengths Financial strengths Operation strengths HRM strengths Weaknesses: are internal factors which a firm may need to protect itself such as: Marketing weaknesses such as limited distribution Financial weaknesses such as high levels of borrowing and low rates of return Operational weaknesses such as old or poor quality equipments HRM weaknesses such as high rate of labour turn over and industrial disputes TASK 2 STRATEGY EVALUATION To achieve an objective, managers must develop a suitable strategy. A strategy is a long term plan setting out how an objective will be reached. For example, if the objective is to reduce costs, the strategy could involve relocating or reducing the labour force. If the objective is to boost revenue, the strategy may be to launch new products or to invest in a big promotional campaign. A strategy may be developed by using a firms strengths to exploit the opportunities that exist. For example, a strong brand name may be used to extend a firms products into new markets. It may also use these strengths to protect itself against threats; for example, a retailer may use its finance to acquire key locations to prevent a competitor buying them. Strategies can be evaluated by many ways. One of the way is by using Porters Five Forces model. In this model there are five different sources which are strongly connected with the business and they must be kept in mind while making strategies. While making strategy for a business includes keeping those things in mind which will ruin the business. For example in case of a retail business, if a new retail business entered in, then strategy in this will be change accordingly in this case. Secondly if buyers power is strong in retail business, then it could be a negative or a positive impact on business. If they are strong then they can force down the prices of the product which will lower the profit, so in this case strategy will be evaluated very carefully as every step can change the course of business. Suppliers are the major part of any business so keeping them in mind is a necessary part in strategy evaluation. A firm may also want to protect itself against its weaknesses. For example, it may try to find alternative suppliers to reduce an over-reliance on a particular one; it may invest in a rebranding exercise to reposition itself. Fourth part is degree of rivalry. This measures the degree of competition between existing fir ms. The higher the degree of rivalry the more difficult it is for existing firms to generate high profits. Fifth and last part is threat of substitute. This measures the ease with which buyers can switch to another product that does the same thing. Keeping following things in mind will help effecting business in loss. If the second industry is easy to enter in market, if there is a high degree of rivalry between firms within industry, buyers are strong, suppliers are strong etc. The implication of Porters analysis for managers is that they should examine these five factors before choosing an industry to move into. They should also consider ways of changing the five factors to make them more favourable. TASK 3 IMPLEMENTATION Evaluating strategies is a difficult task but implementing them in a regular and smooth manner is more complicated. The importance of strategy should not be underestimated. Changing the price of an item, changing the distribution strategy and investing in new equipment are all important decisions but if you are fighting in the wrong market with the wrong products then the details are almost irrelevant. The strategy sets out where and how the battles will be fought and a good strategy is essential to business success. This involves an understanding not only of what happens within the firm but also the ability to forecast changes in the external environment and their significance successfully. This implementation is in fact a landmark where various organizations tend to falter. The extensive research and resources used up for the drafting of strategic plans often make organizations believe that whatever they have understood and devised is the optimum and therefore requires no second thoughts. However, what has been ignored is the fact that plans can be tested only if they meet actual usage. Only planning or theoretical application cannot be guarantee complete success. Actual implementation yields the true picture. A business plan is the textual version of a strategy, as it includes pertinent information regarding the company, including: vision and mission statements, measurable objectives supporting the vision, actionable tactics meeting the objective, resources, milestones and timeframes, accountability and role designations, as well as internal and external risks. The business strategy is not evergreen and should be evaluated routinely to ensure the company still has the competitive edge. A business plan includes the primary and secondary objectives of your organization, an analysis of current policies and procedures, and the development of new policies or procedures to correct weaknesses within the organization. Strategy is firstly introduced to lower managers and supervisors so they can act on it and tell to lower staff in order to work on it. If launching a new product or reducing the price of another product because of substitute available in market, all the staff must be aware of that, after that the new promotion or product or discounted product will be advertise in an attractive way in Television, radio and by distributing leaflets to let people aware of it. Focussing on excellent customer service will definitely help improve the business because the service given to customer will bring him back again. Quality assurance of the product will increase the demand of product and will increase revenue. Introducing new and latest technology in the company will save a lot of time and give result much faster and effective. Giving training to all new and old staff about new technology, new products, and everything related to business and plan will help staff delivering a better quality service required. For implementation of plan, money is the major and important resource required. So in order to get money there are many ways, selling shares of the company, retained profit, profit in terms of capital can be reinvested and by taking loans from banks etc. After implementing the plan, wait for the result and do surveys. Drop or put small questionnaire that will help letting you know how good is the strategy going. Taking customers feedback and evaluate the strategy. If it is going the way we wanted, then there is no need to change and if its not, then re evaluate and check where there is a mistake and sort it out.