Sainsburys objectives Essay Example for Free

Sainsburys objectives Essay AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The company aim is to provide a world class service to customers by incorporating quality principles with our everyday routine. OBJECTIVES The companys objective is to discharge the responsibility as leaders in its trade by acting with complete integrity, by carrying out its work to the public good and to the quality of life in the community, to provide unrivalled value to its customers in the quality of the goods it sells, in the competitiveness of its prices and in the range of choice it offers. It aims in its stores, to achieve the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene, efficiency of operation, convenience and customer service, and thereby create as attractive and friendly a shopping environment as possible and to offer its staff outstanding opportunities in terms of personal career development and in remuneration relative to other companies in the same market, practising always a concern for the welfare of every individual. The companys final objective is to generate sufficient profit to finance continual improvement and growth of the business whilst providing its shareholders with an excellent return on their investment. MARKETING AND SALES The company has a separate Marketing and Sales department and market research is used in the forms of market research staff using survey questionnaire in streets and in store, customer focus mornings where feed back can be gained, and questionnaires regarding current promotions e.g. Reward Card. The company hopes to present an image of high standard appealing to family groups and younger people and quality and value for money. The companys advertising strategy is through local TV and Radio, Local and National Strategies, Head Office planning branch and Marketing and Sales Manager Region e.g. Radio, TV, University, Freshers, Sponsorship Advertise by magazines, posters, instore demonstrations and customer led, evenings, mornings, suggestions, feedback, comments, book, school visits, community groups, talks to groups. The major influences on the price of the product are costs by the producer, competitors prices, regional pricing and select prices. The major markets are customers residing in the South Kirklees area. The main channels of distribution are contract distribution to supply products to store. Minority of goods delivered direct by suppliers. The main costs of distribution are transport and other related fixed costs depot vehicles and labour, fuel, consumables. The company is establishing closer links with suppliers by sharing vehicles. The major customers for the products are supermarket customers in South Kirklees. FINANCE The company leases the land and buildings, and the main items of capital equipment are plant machinery e.g. refrigeration, air conditioning, lighting and additional heating costs, checkout tills, display equipment shelves, trolleys, meat and bakery equipment, the fork lift truck, waste compactors, scissor lifts and computer and catering ovens. The company owns the company patent, trademark and products e.g. Classic Cola, Novon Washing Powder (65% of sales Sainsburys own brand) and its own magazine. The companys sources of finance are through ploughed back profit, shares, bank facilities, hire purchase/leasing and trade credit. Income is through profit and shares. Examples of fixed costs are capital equipment, contracted staff time, products and business rates for buildings. Examples of variable costs are energy heat, light, refrigeration, staff overtime and consumables e.g. staff clothing, paper stores, carrier bags. The company would like to invest in additional equipment and facilities for existing stores and updating others. This would provide better service and generate more sales. The cost of the investment would be variable and would be evaluated through a measured increase in turnover. The organisation has found recent trading conditions difficult because of strong competition in a small geographical area and competitive pricing e.g. special offers, introduction of a Reward Card customers and staff card, more advertising. PRODUCTION The products/services offered are a large supermarket, a wide range of food and non-food e.g. cd/video, books, pharmaceuticals, a cook shop, food includes:- bakery, meat, fish produce, dairy, frozen foods, tinned/packets, also a customer restaurant and a petrol station. The location of the company is in Huddersfield adjacent to the ring road opposite The University of Huddersfield and Oldgate House same side as Aspley Marina. Reasons why the organisation is located in Calderdale/Kirklees are to provide a service to customers within the geographical area and the suitable density of population. Reasons for this specific site are because of excellent road links for distribution and particularly customers, a good public transport system and land available for sale suitable for new store. The production process is split into Inputs, the Process and Outputs. The Inputs are goods and commodities are received from suppliers and received 24 hours a day. The Process is that when received, all items are counted manually and taken to the warehouse loaded on to special shelves. Information is recorded on the computer. Each department identifies goods needed. A list is made and items taken for display and sale in the shop. Department staff replenish the shelves when needed under close supervision and management in order to supply a high class service to customers. There is a customer self service and goods are taken to a checkout till for payment. There is an additional display and sales area inside the front entrance for cigarettes, books, newspapers and other small items. In addition a customer service desk is provided for customer contact. There is an adjoining restaurant for customers with the necessary preparation and sale of food. The Outputs are the provision of goods for sale in the store i.e. food and non food as well as a customer restaurant and petrol service station. HUMAN RESOURCES Human Resources Profile Total number455 Part time363 Full time92 Gender is mainly 25% Male and 75% Female, and a predominate number of staff are employed in checkout/replenishment of goods. Other staff include checkout, catering, administration, replenishes, warehouse, butchers, bakers, sales assistants. Staff Training The recruitment and selection procedures of the organisation are that internal recruitment is provided, they maintain a waiting list of speculative enquiries, they occasionally advise local press and they liaise with DSS re disabled staff. Training provided by the company includes Sainsburys own retail training scheme, NVQ level 1,2, NVQ level 4 for Trainee Managers, Assessors Awards for Department Managers, a regional co-ordinator, employment with training, plus operation skills training for in-house training. Methods used to motivate the workforce include the encouragement of employee commitment through involvement in decision making process. Also a Reward/Profit sharing scheme is used, as is a Pension scheme and additional voluntary contribution, a SAYE scheme, a Staff Association (national/local) and staff discounts. Employees have union representation through the following unions USDAW, T GW Union, a Recognition Agreement of no negotiation rights. Currently 13% of employees are in a union. MANAGEMENT, ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATION Internal methods of communication are through senior management weekly meetings, store manager meetings, deputy manager meetings, department manager monthly meetings with staff, staff/management daily meetings, special additional meetings re initiatives, daily and weekly bulletins and through OASIS (E-Mail). External methods of communication are mail, phones, and through the Media TV, Radio and Press. Communications problems encountered and overcome have been continually ensuring communication of staff at all levels staff/customer upwards to management. The company has set up Staff Councils, elected regular Representatives of Staff and guaranteed Communicators who will inform a group of people. Developments in communication include Staff Councils. EXTERNAL FACTORS The consumers individual needs and expectations and the need to match customers needs to remain in business is one factor looked at. Another is the Governments Statutory legislation e.g. Health Safety, Hygiene, Employment, and Trading Standards. Local Authorities e.g. Planning Agreements, and Highway Authority are others. Competition from other superstores, regarding prime sites, maintaining the share of business, the effective change of products, the range and expansion into new initiatives are the big external factors in this trade.

Threat Of Substitutes And Bargaining Power Of Customers Marketing Essay

Threat Of Substitutes And Bargaining Power Of Customers Marketing Essay As mentioned earlier in part 1.3, I will be using Porters Five Forces to analyse the external environment to obtain a comprehensive understanding of a given industry. My focus here will be the fast food industry. BK is my chosen company to evaluate the effect of globalisation has upon fast food industry. The analysis will be done in four areas as below and there may be some overlapping of points as they can be interrelated. There are six major sources identified as barriers to a market entry which include economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirement, switching cost, access to channels of distribution and government policy (Porter, 1980). All these have had impact on BK especially as from the point of view of globalisation. In my observation, it is very possible to open one or two outlets but to globally have a chain of outlets with the same branding requires tremendous capital requirements. Thus globalisation has directly impacted BK in the way it structured its business model through franchising. BK could afford to do so as with agreements such as US- Canada Free Trade Agreement and North American Free Trade Agreement (Reference for Business, 2010). BK took advantage of the relative free flow of resources under globalisation to expand globally. Franchising is a relative low cost and low risk business model. Most of the US franchisors often use this method to enter a new market with diverse economical, cultural and political environment (Alon, 2006). For instance, 88% of BKs restaurants worldwide are franchised in fiscal 2009, contributing to $412.5 millions of total revenue globally (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). Franchising enables the business to develop in an unfamiliar market relatively quickly on a larger scale, allows the use of local partners who are familiar with local environment and also to create a standardised, global brand image, generating marketing economies of scale (McDonald et al., 2002). Charts below will provide further information on BKs franchise restaurants. Chart 1: Percentage of BKs Franchise Restaurants and Company Restaurants Worldwide ( Burger King Holdings Inc.,2009; SEC Info, 2007) Chart 2: Revenue Breakdown From BKs Total Revenue Worldwide (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) However with globalisation, competition is globalised and relentless. McDonalds is actually BKs largest competitor as it provides better menu variety with more valuable and affordable prices (CNN.com, 2009), biting into BKs revenue by securing a larger market share. McDonalds is also more a pioneer compared to BK because it opened its first restaurant in 1940 (Spiritus-temporis.com, 2005) compared to BK with its first restaurant in 1954 (WikiAnswers, 2010). Being a pioneer, McDonalds has many advantages which includes entrenchment of position in consumers minds, creating higher thresholds for later entrants in terms of quality, advertising and distribution support, enjoys long-term market share advantages and reputation benefits (Gass et al.,2003). It is the effect of globalisation where McDonalds has built around 32,000 outlets in more than 117 countries (McDonalds Corporation, 2010). With its expansion into international markets, the company is famous throughout the world and is the leader in this industry followed by BK only at second place. The difference in number of outlets worldwide which also translates into sales volume differences between these two fast food chain can be seen clearly in the diagrams below. Chart 3: The total number of restaurants worldwide for BK and McDonalds. ( Burger King Holdings Inc.,2009; McDonalds Corporation, 2009) Chart 4: Comparison of Sales Revenues Between BK and McDonalds (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, McDonalds Corporation 2007; 2009, SEC Info, 2007) Based on the charts, McDonalds is approximately 3 times larger than BK in terms of outlet and 10 times larger in terms of sales revenues. Substantial capital is also needed in terms of advertising to build up BKs brand. The advertising cost of McDonalds is approximately 8 times higher than BK thus creating a higher barrier entry when BKs brand name is lacking compared to McDonalds. To compete with McDonalds, BK needs more capital to increase its advertising as it is very much needed in globalisation to introduce BK in new markets and building up its image that they may otherwise not known about (Coulter, 2001). To ease comparison of the advertising cost, it is illustrated in chart below. Chart 5: Advertising cost of BK compared to McDonalds (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009; SEC Info, 2007; McDonalds Corporation, 2007;2009) With these type of cost outlays, for other competitors to come into the same scale as these two companies is extremely daunting indeed, thus the threat of entrants is low, though for smaller players is possible to find niches that are under or not exploited as yet. Luckily the advertising costs have resulted in branding, which builds a better image globally and flows ultimately into higher sales and profitabililty. Table below provides Best Global Brand Ranking 2009 highlighting few of BKs major competitors and where BK succeeded in positioning its brand among top 100 in year 2009. 2009 rank 2008 rank brand country of origin sector 2009 brand value ($m) 6 8 united states restaurant 32275 61 64 united states restaurant 5722 79 81 united states restaurant 3876 90 85 united states restaurant 3263 93 new united states restaurant 3233 Table 1: Best Global Brand Ranking 2009 (Interbrand, 2009) It is clear that BK lags behind McDonalds though in many ways this is to be expected given its much lower advertising cost outlays, which besides outlet costs, form a significant barrier of entry as mentioned earlier. 3.1.2 Product Differentiation With globalisation, BK differentiates itself from other fast food giants by acknowledging culture and country specific needs. For instances, Pork-based Bulgogi Burgers are offered in korea and the ultra-spicy Rendang Double in Singapore (Wikipedia, 2010). Picture 1: Pork based Bulgogi Burger Picture 2: Rendang Double (flickr.com, 2008 ) (therealnurulle.blogspot.com, 2010) BK also keeps its promise of Have it your way with customers having 221184 possible ways of ordering a Whopper meal (Swabey, 2007). This will help to ease its penetration into new market with different local conditions. BKs response to globalisation is obviously to cater to local tastes, as the pictures above testify. Another response to globalisation has been the move towards becoming more healthy by offering healthier menu with less salt and also with its product innovation to provide food with higher nutrition contents. At all times, BK is trying to differentiate itself to meet customers demands. Further details regarding food offerings will be mentioned in later part. 3.2 Threat of Substitutes and Bargaining Power of Customers Various global fast food chains have successfully make inroads in diverse market settings around the world (Watson, 2006). These restaurants stand the most conspicuous symbol of globalisation and modernity in countries worldwide (Wilk, 2006). Hence, they are often viewed as the cutting edge of emerging global consumer culture which have caused societies worldwide to become increasingly homogeneous and deterritorialised (Friedman, 2000). Although the expansion of Western quick-service eateries outside America and Europe has done much to transform established notions of service, taste and lifestyle (Schlosser et al., 2001), their spread has also given rise to rival domestic chains whose extensive knowledge of local preferences offers real advantages in attracting and retaining customers (Matejowsky, 2008). It is the strong bargaining power of customers which intensify the competition among various food chains with more substitutes available. To deal with these forces on a global basis, BK resorted to differentiate itself through innovative marketing and menu items. 3.2.1 Innovative Marketing BK has adopted a strategy which helps to differentiate them from their competitors. The company appointed TMP Worldwide Advertising Communications to create an exclusive company-wide employer branding campaign based on the concept Fun with a Future which concentrates on brand recognition, employee engagement and delivering on brand promise. BK decided to differentiate itself through its product and people with its employee as brand ambassador where all employees at all levels are linked to the company brand featuring in BKs advertisements and posters (Business and Finance Week, 2008). This is in line with the concept of globalisation where people of different races, culture and family background will have a common global identification as BKs brand ambassador. Pictures below feature BK employees who are of different races and cultures. Picture 3: Employees of BK in Tokyo Picture 4: Employees of BK in U.S. (associatedcontent.com, 2010) (farsons.com, 2010) BK also uses a creative marketing strategy by building an edgy, hip image with young men, who are targeted consumers (Jargon, 2006). For instance, in November 2006, BK began offering BK Xbox and Xbox 360 games with their value meals. After one month, 20 million of BK Xbox games had been sold. The games could only be bought with a value meal which means that BK attracted a lot of customers with this promotion, earning a nice profit from it. Comparing with BK, McDonalds on the other hand only places Nintendo mascot toys in their Happy Meals (Mattie, 2007). A picture of both BK Xbox and McDonalds Nintendo toys can be seen below. Picture 5: Burger King Xbox Picture 6: McDonalds Nintendo Toy ( blogs.ft.com, 2006) (toadcastle.net, 2006) The successfulness of BKs innovative marketing was already proven in 1999 in a TV campaign where Whopper was proclaimed as Americas Favourite Burger. That claim was based on the result of a research where 700 consumers were asked to name their favourite burger. 33% of them picked Whopper and only 12% chose McDonalds Big Mac (Cebrzynski, 1999). Having innovative marketing is a response to the threat of substitutes and bargaining power of customers as BK tries to embed itself on consumer consciousness globally. 3.2.2 Menu Options and Changes BK tries to reach out more customers through its menu to reduce threat of substitutes, which of course with globalisation is a full time and relentless force. As mentioned in part 3.1, health consciousness was rising among people with the obesity crisis hitting globally. It was found that United States tops the hierarchy for obesity with 30.6%, followed by Mexico and United Kingdom with 24.2% and 23% (NationMaster.com, 2010). Even though BK tries to blunt customers bargaining power and the threat of substitutes through aggressive marketing as seen above, in truth they are obviously much stronger with no switching cost. New Products Thus a response from BK is to try to be almost all things to customers. For instance, provide healthier food options. The company in its social responsibility statement promises to work with its trained chefs and nutritionist to develop new menu options that meet customers nutritional needs globally (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010a). BKs efforts could be seen when it unveiled a healthy eating adaptation of its Have It Your Way strategy where posters in restaurants tell customers how to order a low carbohydrate, low fat and low calorie meal (Walker, 2004). The famous Whopper can also be served without the bun, mayonnaise and ketchup (MacArthur, 2004). BK also launched a new salad line offering shrimp and sirloin steak with grilled peppers and onions on it (Walker, 2004). Besides, health drive was initiated by BK by reducing salt and fat content in burgers and fries. Even children are targeted where childrens menu also comes with a choice of apples or grapes, milk or fruit juice (Forte, 2006). In 2008, BKs kids meal underwent makeover with the introduction of apple fries as part of the meal (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010b). A list of BKs healthier options with their calorie contents are provided in Appendix 3. Pictures below show two healthy options from BK. Picture 7: Kids meal with Apple Fries Picture 8: Bunless Whopper (fastfood.ocregister.com, 2009) (hungry-girl.com, 2010) In addition, BK also later launched its Joe Coffee. This made-to-order coffee processed from 100% Arabica coffee beans (The Franchise Mall, 2005). This is actually a response to global economic crisis where it was found that consumers were trading down from more expensive coffee such as starbucks into lower ranking choices, providing a perfect option for BK. Thus even though globally the economic situation was dire, for instance it was found that 2009s world economic growth rate was only half percent (International Monetary Fund, 2009). BK found a new market segment to exploit to further reduce the threat of substitutes and bargaining power of customers. Latest initiatives include where in February year 2010, BK decided to replace its own coffee brand BK Joe with Seattles Best Coffee, a brand owned by Starbucks to increase falling sales by improving its product offerings (Tice, 2010). Pictures below show BKs Joe Coffee and its replacement, Seattles Best Coffee. Picture 9: BK Joe Coffee (ebay.com, 2010) Picture 10: Seattles Best Coffee (myalohavibe.com, 2010) BK also imitated a McDonalds breakfast item. BKs Breakfast Muffin Sandwich was promoted through an advertisement where a cleverly disguised BK breaks into McDonalds Headquarters to steal the Top Secret Blueprints for the Sausage McMuffin With Egg (Dave, 2010). Picture below shows the contrast between the two breakfast offering from McDonalds and BK. Picture 11: McDonalds Sausage McMuffin with Egg Vs BKs breakfast Muffin (davescupboard.blogspot.com, 2010) New Pricing It is not just menu changes were offered but also menu pricing as well. To meet the changing economic conditions as an impact of global recession, BK also announced that it will offer $1 double cheeseburger in order to gain market share back from McDonalds (Johnson, 2007). This has cause BKs franchisees to file a law suit challenging BKs right to dictate maximum prices as the products costs is at least $1.10 per sandwich (Glover, 2009). Thus even though BK tries to satisfy customers other stakeholders may not be happy, showing the complexities in managing relationships in the era of globalisation. Further in many ways, as seen in breakfast, and even in pricing, since the RM $1 cheeseburger, BK is imitating McDonalds. 3.3 Bargaining power of suppliers With globalisation, BK is required to maintain the quality of services in its restaurants worldwide. As a measure of quality control, BK will evaluate before approving the existing or potential manufacturers and distributors of food, packaging and equipment products used in the restaurants. Evaluation is done based on their delivery, timeliness and financial conditions. To ensure consistency, franchises are required to purchase their products from approved suppliers. (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). 3.3.1 Purchasing Power of BK Restaurant Services Inc. (RSI), a not-for-profit independent purchasing cooperative leverages purchasing power of the BK system in United States by negotiating the purchase terms for most equipments, food, beverages, toys and paper products used in the restaurants (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). RSI currently involves in the negotiation of purchase with BK for more than $3 billion a year in goods and services, managing supply agreements with over 300 suppliers and 27 distributors (Sterlingcommerce, 2009). For company restaurants and franchise restaurants in Canada, a subsidiary of RSI is responsible to purchase the products. However, there is currently no appointed purchasing agent that represents franchisees in other international regions. BK will work closely with their franchisees to implement programs that leverage their global purchasing power and to obtain lower product costs outside the United States and Canada. (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). Globalisation has increased the purchasing power of BK and therefore reducing bargaining power of suppliers with the ease of selection of suppliers who meet the company criteria 3.3.2 Suppliers of BK Food As a global fast food chain, it is important for BK to maintain its brand name worldwide. The image of the global brand could be destroyed in a day due to globalisation where news travels billion times faster than it used to be in the past. BK was labelled Murder King by animal activists forcing the company to implement new policies that are more closely monitor its suppliers. Thus by 2001, there were guidelines that require the egg suppliers battery cages to contain two water bottles, allowing the birds to stand upright and be at least 75 square inches (Detweiler, 2001). BK further discourages its suppliers from trimming chickens beak and breaking their wings to save packing space when transporting (Detweiler, 2001). Reports in media of one or more cases of food-borne diseases in one of BKs restaurant also negatively affect its sales worldwide when being highly publicised (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). During an earlier case in year 1997, BK cut off its ties with one of its biggest beef supplier, Hudson Foods Inc. as its beef supplies were contaminated with E.coli..Hudson voluntarily recalled the beef after the severity of E.coli contamination was discovered at its plant in Columbus, leaving some BK restaurants without sufficient beef supply for 24 hours to 48 hours (Papernik et al., 1997). Soft Drinks In fiscal 2000, BK decided to enter into a long term contracts with The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Inc to supply all restaurants of BK in United States with their product (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). BK prolonged its long term liaison with The Coca-Cola Company as an approved soft drink supplier for its international region covering Greater Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific (PRNewswire, 2003). With the effect of globalisation, consumers in around 200 countries enjoy Coca-Cola products of more than 1 billions servings per day (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010). BK International President believes that with this renewed alliances, Coca-Cola Company, recognised as the worlds best known brand (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010) will help to grow the BK brand rapidly by providing the best burger experience to their consumers in all restaurants globally (PRNewswire, 2003). Getting into alliances with suppliers is a good way to also set up higher barriers of entry. From my analysis, bargaining power of food suppliers are strong but over soft drinks especially in terms of dealing with companies with strong brand name is weaker. Obviously, the extent to which the other party uses branding and distribution network as leverage globally as well. Employees Other than external suppliers, internal supplier is also an important piece of puzzle which without, BKs supplier network would not be complete. Hence, the bargaining power of its employees should not be shoved aside. BK had approximately 41320 employees in its company restaurants, field management offices and global headquarters as at 30th June 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). As mentioned in part 3.2.1, there are diversity of employees with different backgrounds, race, religion and cultures. It is clear that like globalisation, the factors in Porters Five Forces are interlinked and do not stand alone. The success of BK is highly dependent on its ability to attract general managers with necessary competences to be part of the management team to motivate the employees to sustain high service levels and maintain sales growth. The competition for the right employee candidates causes higher payment of wages featuring the high bargaining power of employees (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). However, where boundaries between countries became narrower and communication made easier with globalisation, the search for the right employee is more efficient and effective through online application, which could perhaps reduce their bargaining power. The selection of employees is important as a wrong choice would lead to negative publicity. In one of the cases, a BK employee in Jacksonville had tried to poison a customer as he was pissed due to his suspension for misconduct (Morbid, 2010). In another case, a Washington State Deputy, Edward Bylsma after discovering a spit on his Whopper ordered fr om a BK employee decided to sue BK seeking $75,000 of compensation (Ryan, 2010). No doubt with globalisation, these news would definitely spread fast and adversely impact the companys brand. Further, since a large portion of outlets are franchised as a result of BKs decision on this bus model to move globally, employees become even more important as front link assets to keep sales and profits up. With payroll expenses on the increase as seen in the chart below, it is clear that for employees, their bargaining power is, in my opinion, rated medium to high. Chart 6: Payroll and Employee Benefits for BK ( Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) 3.4 Rivalry among Existing Competitors Globalisation has increased the competition among the fast food chain. With various quick service restaurants mushrooming worldwide, other than competing on a national or regional basis, they are competing with each other globally. As an effect of globalisation causing increases in degree of awareness among consumers, there has been intense competition among the competitors globally to gain market share. Increasing prices of raw material, agitation by social organisations, slow down of U.S economy and also increasing fuel prices has prompt many fast food chain to divert their attention to eastern part of the world especially China ( Naim, 2008). Although globalisation has ease the expansion of fast food chain worldwide with the ease of information transfer and seeking global suppliers, entry into China and other Asian countries still pose logistical and political challenges. As quoted from Martin (1994) in Nation Restaurants news Among the most frustrating obstacles are the scarcity and inordinately high cost of prime locations in most markets as well as the steep tariffs and patchwork of inconsistent regulations that impede imports of commodities and equipment. 3.4.1 New Geographical Regions and New Ventures Taking a closer look, even though globalisation has blurred boundaries, there are still differences in cultural issues between United States and other countries resulting in different eating habits of consumers ( Glazer, 2007). From consumer point of view, globalisation has resulted from development of sophisticated media contributing to the creation of a borderless market but it does not mean it is without internal differences or local tastes (Ziedman, 2003). When a company goes global, they are bound to satisfy the demands of local customers. For example in India, cows are sacred and worshipped by the Indians, beef could not be served and the muslims, they could not consume pork (Kulkarni et al., 2009). Hence, it is a must to substitute the beef and pork in the product offerings. To further compete globally, BK invested in Whopper Bars. BK opened their first Whopper Bar in Orlando during spring 2009, and the first in Asia in Singapore during September 2009 (International Wire, 2009). It offers a specialised burger menu with more than 20 toppings (Ruggles, 2010). On 8th February 2010, BK further announced that beer sales will be added at a new unit opening in South Miami. ( Ruggles, 2010). BK changes may not be rapid enough to obtain further market share from McDonalds but the company has been spending more effort in improving its sales in this global competition ( Anderlini et al., 2010). Competing on a global scale gives rise to global income streams. This would help BK to sustain the worldwide competition where the profit from a restaurant would balance the loss in another. The pie charts below show the distribution of revenue from different geographical region. Chart 6: BKs Geographical Sales from Year 2007-Year 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) In a way, the company is more dependent on its home market, as showed in the pie chart above where most portion of global stream income is generated. In a recent case in 2009, BKs advertisement for Texican Whopper burger in Europe had angered the Mexicans where a small wrestler featured in the advertisement was dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. Mexicans have high respect for their flag and therefore could not tolerate such an insult from BK ( The Assiociated Press, 2009). This adverse publicity could have adversely impact its profits. Still, the company had not done unduly badly as seen in the charts below. Chart 7: Revenue, Gross Profit and Net Profit of BK from Year 2005 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, SEC Info, 2007) It is clear that BK has done well as seen in increasing absolute figures of all sales, gross profit and net profit. A look at gross profit and net profit margin also shows that on a relative basis the company is handling itself well in the world of globalisation. Chart 8: Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin of BK from Year 2005- 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, SEC Info, 2007) Even though Gross Profit Margin has been decreasing slightly, its net profit margin has been increasing with a drastic improvement from year 2006 to 2007. This is definitely a good sign. 3.5 Conclusion and Recommendation Globalisation can be a threat to the company and also it may help its expansion. Being a global brand, BK has a lot benefits which include cost-efficiencies, sharing of resources and ability to attract partners, employees and customers on entering new market. It all depends how the company took opportunities and work towards their goals. Management of globalisation is the key to success and most importantly, BK need to balance between global and local control (Samli, 2008). The company has retreated back to the US market, which is why the share prices have been sliding back down in recent times as seen below. Chart 9 : BKs Share Price Ups and Downs from 2001 till 2010 ( Yahoo Finance, 2010) Recommendations made to companys performance are as follows: Moving In Developing countries, Especially India and China Aggressively: India and China both has a steady high economic growth rates of 8.8% and 10% in 2010 (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2010) and will probably be the major players in the world economy. It is definitely a wise option to expand BKs growth in these two countries by using local partners, local employees and local ingredients. Furthermore, BK could also offer limited promotions during festive seasons or special events, for instance during Chinese New Year or Deepavali as this will help to attract more customers during that period. Broader Menu Selection: As mentioned earlier in the project, BK should continuously provide more choices of menu which allow customers to pick from wider choices. This step should be taken to also reduce threat of substitutes from new entries and existing competitors. Its product offerings must also be ensured to meet the local taste. As mentioned by the officials of market research firm of the NPD Group, quick service operators who are expanding their brands outside the United States must customise each unit to meet the specific needs of consumers in the country and region they seek to enter (Glazer, 2007). Promotions and Advertising: As observed so far, BKs advertising has been giving positive impact on its sales. Hence, BK should continuously invest in its promotions and advertisement to gain market share. BK could perhaps invite its employees to give their opinion as they are also the brand ambassadors. This would allow a fresher and a more creative in flow of idea and to boost the motivation of the employees as they are invited to participate in the companys program. However, BK should avoid price wars with its competitors ie. McDonalds as this would pull down the profits of all burger chains. BK should choose to differentiate from its competitors. There is only one winner in cost strategy but there may be more than one winner in differentiation strategy. Relationships with Franchisees: There has been cases where the franchisees are not happy with the decisions of BK Inc..The most obvious example is the sale of doublecheese burger at $1. BK should strengthen its ties with the franchisees by encouraging them to provide ideas and feedbacks on how to improve sales. When there is a disagreement between them, BK should understand the reason behind and to solve it on a win-win situation. If this could be practised, law suit against BK Inc. could be avoided. In conclusion, Porters Five Forces Analysis that was used to analyse BKs stand in the industry gives a birds eye view of the company and industry globally. Globalisation plays a major role in pushing and shaping the company. The survival of BK is dependent on its ability to adapt to constant changes in business environment due to globalisation. With BKs effort in improving its performance, it will definitely survive in this field and could perhaps be the number one fast food chain worldwide in the future.

Bilingual Education Essay -- essays research papers

Benefits of Bilingual Education David Hosterman The issue of bilingual education is a very controversial issue and many people have different views concerning this subject. "Bilingual education began in 1968 as a small, $7.5 million federal program to help Mexican-American students, half of whom could not speak English well when they entered first grade" (Chavez 23). In addition, it began 23 years ago as a historic order for busing students to schools to achieve racial integration. One would believe that the supporters of bilingual education are Latino's but in actuality they are black and white professionals who know the advantages of their children being bilingual. It has been proven that students who are enrolled in bilingual classes have better scores on standardized tests, such as the ACT's and SAT's, than those who are not enrolled in bilingual classes. Bilingual education is beneficial for our country and enables students to learn English as well as keeping their native tongue for future success in our global econ omy. Bilingual education works in our society and should stay intact within the schools and should be funded to enable students who wish to take these classes should be able to. In aspect of Rudolph Giuliani's view that bilingual education doesn't work and that it is too expensive should be better thought out and he should look at the benefits that come from it. Giuliani was quoted regarding bilingual education by saying, "It's cruel to them and gives them less of a chance to succeed" (Willen 8). This is a bizarre view that Giuliani is issuing considering that it has been proven that students who are enrolled in bilingual classes perform better on standard eyes tests. This is an advantage for these students to succeed considering that the better the test grades the better the opportunity to get into good college. In addition one can notice that knowing more than one language can "utilize the strengths of bilingual children to prepare all students to compete in a global economy that increasingly calls for multilingual and multicultural expertise" (Beyer 11). Bilingual education can be seen beneficial in many schools and helps students prep are for a future in corporate America. In El Paso at a secondary school bilingual education can be seen as helpful for both the students and credibility of the school. At this... ... September 1998:11 EV. Bowen, Ezra. "Education: For Learning Or Ethnic Pride? Parents Politicians and Pedagogues Battle Over Bilingual Classes" Time 8 July 1985: 80. Chavez, Linda. "Bilingual Education Was to Teach English, Not Trap Students" Minneapolis Star Tribune 2 April 1995: 23A. Gonzales, Patricia. "Why Is Bilingual Education Opposed?" The Dallas Morning News 11 July 1996: 23A. Pratt, Chasity. "One Class, Two Languages/ Both English, Foreign Benefit Bilingual Schools." Newsday 4 April 2000: 6A. Ruano-Martinez, Natalia. "Should We Abolish Bilingual Education? No: It Prepares Kids For Global Economy." USA Today 2 June 1998: 13A. Weber, Brian. "Native Tongue Denver Schools Wrestle With Bilingual Education As Feds Make New Demands" Denver Rocky Mountain News 19 October 1997: 40A. Willen, Liz. "Bilingual Debate/ Rudy's Push to Limit Education Programs Draws Flak" Newsday 16 January1998: 8A.

Londons Social Class in Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jek

London's Social Class in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class Londoners, who tended to dwell in the West End, associated the East End with the lower class. Writers like Henry Mayhew (London Labour and the London Poor) and Jack London (The People of the Abyss), and artists like Gustave Dore (London) and John Thomson (Street Life in London) - all chroniclers of the desperate conditions of those in the East End - helped enlighten many around world - particularly those who lived just beyond the permeable boundaries of that notorious area - as to the needs of the city's unfortunate members of society. Their works called out - whether directly or indirectly - for some sort of radical social reform, but there was little immediate response. The East End continued throughout the 19th century to exist as a symbol for the deterioration of society and the degeneration of humanity. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the reader is given vivid (and often depressing) images of London's East End: Two doors from one corner. . . the line was broken by the e... ... desires (i.e., sexual opportunities). Those like Jekyll, however, who were of the upper classes and who harbored secret and socially forbidden desires, nonetheless had to control these desires in order to maintain an elite appearance. As Henrik Hansen notes, "A man was considered to be civilized if he was able to repress the animal instincts within him. . . and the Victorian elite could thus claim to be more civilized than the lower classes" (par. 2). The novel, then, can be perceived as a commentary not only on the distinctions between these sides of London but also on the hypocrisy of the upper-class men who struggled to conceal their homosexuality and who, in spite of whatever rhetoric they spoke among their class against the End End, sought to fulfill their lusts in areas like Soho and Regent Street - where their anonymity would be almost certainly secured.

Essay --

Cousin Kate is a poem about a young woman who is seduced by a Lord. He soon ensnares her and marries her cousin Kate instead, leaving behind a broken-hearted cottage maiden. The maiden is soon classed as a fallen woman and is treated like an outcast in society. She is bitter and jealous of her cousin but soon reveals that she has the one thing her cousin does not and desperately wants: a son and replacement to the Lord. The poem begins by saying ‘I was a cottage maiden’. It is a simple beginning, talking in the past tense. She tells us she is lower class person. It later says she is ‘Hardened by sun and air’ this shows that the cottage maiden is strong and worked outside on land and it also suggests by the use of the words â€Å"contented with my cottage mates† that she was happy and a sense of community . Then it says ‘why did a great lord find me out,’ this tells us that the lord has been chasing after her and she has been caught by him. In this stanza there is a question asked to the question reveals that the girl is puzzled about the lord is after her. This suggests that she is aware that he has different motives rather than love and romance. This also shows that she knows the compliment is false and just a way of seducing her into bed. The second stanza is where the great lord isn’t so â€Å"great† anymore. He lured and tricked her into going to his palace home. She then saw another life. Life without working and cleaning; however, the lord doesn’t take her seriously. He doesn’t feel like he has too as they are not married. â€Å"He wore me like a silken knot† is a simile which defines how he used her in his own way. He just wanted her as an accessory. â€Å"He changed me like a glove† this quote is also a simile which outlines h... ...fair haired son, my shame, my pride† We are told she has a son, and that not only is it a memory of her shame but he is her pride. He’s all she has. Then the last three lines on stanza six are switched. The narrator is now talking to her son, her pride. â€Å"Your father would give lands for one† she is telling her son that if his father really wanted to, he would take him and would leave her (the narrator) with nothing. In conclusion, â€Å"Cousin Kate† is an extremely complicated poem, and even though there’s hate and heartbreak throughout, she ends up with pride. The narrator let the lord control her, power over her and make her what he wanted; however, Cousin Kate didn’t. She would only let him have sex with her if she could still be pure; this means that she would have to be married to do so. This probably made the lord have massive respect for Kate and not the narrator.

Maslow’s theory Essay

There is an interrelationship between Maslow’s theory and Herzberg’s theory. These two theories have a similarity in that both of them suggest employee satisfaction as a motivation factor. Form the above discussion, it is possible to tell that Herzberg cites esteem needs and self-actualization needs from Maslow’s theory as the motivators. Others needs do not cause motivation and failure to address them in the organization setting only leads to dissatisfaction. Criticisms Maslow’s theory Several criticisms exist about Maslow’s motivation theory. To begin with, there is limited scientific evidence if any to support the above theory. Furthermore, personal need priorities may not be in the order given by Maslow. For example, there is a possibility of social needs coming before security needs since one must belong to a society in the first place. Another criticism is that people do not necessarily satisfy each level of need at a time. Needs tend to conflict such that a person may be motivated to achieve different needs at the same time or make priorities depending on the urgency of each need. Maslow’s theory is therefore general and does not consider individual differences. Herzberg’s theory Herzberg’s theory does not also consider individual differences when analyzing factors that cause satisfaction and those that cause dissatisfaction. One dissatisfaction factor may be a motivator for someone else and vise versa. For example, increased responsibility could be a dissatisfier for someone who is resistant to change. Again Hertzber’s model is too simplistic and only addresses factors that people would consider normal motivational factors in any workplace setting. Describe goal setting theory. Explain how this theory can be applied to performance appraisal and compensation This is a motivational theory developed by Edwin Locke. It is actually an improvement of the final causality theory advanced by Aristotle which put forth that purpose can lead to action. According to Locke, an individual’s behavior is to a large extent influenced by their ambitions and goals (Latham and Locke, 2002). For this reason, goals significantly improve performance. Most individuals set goals in anticipation for something; usually a reward to be obtained after achieving the set goal. Goals can be said to affect performance in three different ways (Latham and Locke, 2002). Firstly, they narrow an individual’s attention so that all efforts are directed towards activities that are relevant to achieving the set goals. Similarly, irrelevant or undesirable activities are avoided. Secondly, goals increase effort as individuals strive to achieve the set goal so as to gain the expected reward. Thirdly, goals help individuals to develop persistence. In other words, they become more willing to work even in the midst of challenges and setbacks. Goal setting is guided by factors known as moderators (Latham and Locke, 2002). These include goal –commitment, attainability and self-efficacy. In order to attain a certain goal, an individual must be ready to face every challenge that he or she finds on the way. Commitment depicts the need to achieve no matter what the circumstances. Set goals must also be attainable so that individuals must not set goals that cannot be reached. Finally, self-efficacy must be present for goals to be achieved. This refers to the ability to act in a certain way so as to be able to achieve set objectives.

Hamlet and Horatio Best Friends for Life: an Analysis of Hamlet

3 November 2009 Hamlet and Horatio Best Friends for Life: an Analysis of Hamlet In Hamlet, two characters I believe to be important are Hamlet and his friend, Horatio. Horatio is the second most important character in the play. Horatio is Hamlet’s best friend and advisor. Horatio never keeps anything from Hamlet. In Act one, scene one; Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus see the ghost of king Hamlet who was killed by his brother, Claudius. After the ghost disappears, Horatio tells Marcellus and Bernardo to reveal to Hamlet what they have seen. †¦Let us impart what we have seen tonight Unto young Hamlet; for upon my life, This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him†¦. † (Act 1, Scene 1). Hamlet reveals to Horatio what the spirit reveled to him about Claudius. â€Å"†¦But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown. † (Act 1, scene 5). Horatio tells no one, of what Hamlet has told him, and he plays along with Hamlet’s idea of pretending to be mad or insane. I believe this exhibits that Hamlet trusts Horatio more than the other characters. I believe that Hamlet can go to Horatio for anything. †¦There is a play tonight before the king. One scene of it comes near the circumstance Which I have told thee of my father’s death. I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, Even with the very comment of thy soul Observe my uncle†¦. † (Act 3, Scene 2). I believe that Horatio is able to understand Hamlet better than the other characters do. In Act five, scene two, Hamlet tells Horatio to tell his story to everyone. The only reason that Hamlet would tell Horatio this; is if he was the only one left that could tell his story, and because Horatio is his friend. Let us face it, if we were on our deathbed, would we not want our best friend to tell our story? In Act one, scene two, we get a glimpse of Hamlet’s resentment over his mother’s marriage, to his uncle, which follow hard upon the funeral of his father. â€Å"†¦Within a month, Ere yet the sale of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes She married. O most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good. But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. † ( Act 1, Scene 2). In Act two, Scene one, we see a hint of Hamlet’s love for Ophelia. In Act two, scene two, Hamlet doubts the spirit of his father, and thinks that his father could be telling the truth or telling a lie. He is not quite sure which is truth and which is false. We see that Hamlet has many questions as to what he could do to see if the ghost is telling the truth. He decides to put on a play with a scene that he has added. In Act three, scene one, we get a peek of how he seems to know everything. â€Å"Let the doors be shut upon him [Polonius], that he may play the fool nowhere but in’s own house. Farewell. † In this Act, he says things to Ophelia that I believe he does not mean, such as, â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery. ’’ I believe he is saying what he says for the benefit of Polonius, Ophelia’s father. Polonius believes that Hamlet is mad, or insane. â€Å"Your noble son is mad. † Hamlet is abhorrent toward Claudius because Claudius killed his father. In act three, scene four we see Hamlet’s reluctance to kill his uncle, but this time he is unwilling to kill Claudius because he is praying or that is what it seems like to Hamlet. Let us face it, who in their right mind would kill someone while they are praying? However, I believe that Hamlet should have killed Claudius in this scene because if he did then the other characters that die would not have died and his father’s spirit would be able to rest in peace. At the end of Act three, Hamlet kills Polonius believing him to be Claudius. â€Å"I took thee for thy better. † It was so easy for Hamlet to kill Polonius because he believed him to be Claudius. Hamlet then hides the body because he does not want anyone to know what he has done, or maybe he hides the body ecause he wants people to believe that he is insane. At the end of the play, Hamlet forces Claudius to drink from a cup of poison thus killing him. Horatio knowing that Hamlet was dying decides to drink from the cup so he would not be alone, but Hamlet stops him. Hamlet then tells Horatio to tell his story to the world. Hamlet also dies from the same poison. Throughout the play, Hamlet ha s been at war with Claudius because Claudius killed his father and then married his mother. At the same time, he is at a constant battle with his feelings. He asks questions that are difficult to answer or even understand, but he always comes up with an answer. Horatio’s part in the play is the second important part. Without Horatio, I believe that Hamlet would have killed himself, because he would not have any one to share his burden of killing his uncle. Horatio keeps helping Hamlet every chance he gets. Horatio also tries to take poison because Hamlet is dying; if this is not true friendship then I do not know what is. Shaksper's Hamlet