Argos Retail Ltd Strategic management

Executive summary This is an individual report that focused on analysing the external factors that could impact the performance of Argos Retail Ltd in the UK. Our team members agreed that the firm is based on a strong platform that has been instrumental in gaining significant market share.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Argos Retail Ltd Strategic management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An analysis of the various strategic models and theories, such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, Porter’s five forces, and Porter’s diamond mode provided a clear status of the company. Group members agreed that the management of the firm should use the Porter’s five forces model to improve the performance of the organisation. A key pillar of the proposed model is the gain of market share through focused competitive approaches. The model is characterised by five forces that could either positive ly or negatively affect the performance of the organisation. In a market that has strong competitors, it would be expected the profits realised from business operations would be driven to normal profits (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes Pyle 2011). A competitive analysis of Argo shows that it has a remarkable level of competitive advantage (Perdana, Roshetko Kurniawan 2012). The firm has high quality goods that are offered at competitive prices. Its main rivals have not yet utilised the integration of the online shopping in their business activities. Thus, our advice to the management team of Argos Retail Ltd is that the firm should take advantage of the huge potential for growth that would be supported by their excellent brand and dynamism with regard to changing of customer behaviour. Introduction This report offers an overview of the academic and practical research that was conducted by my team. It gives more emphasis on my individual contribution to achieving the goals of the tea m. My area of research focused on understanding how external factors influence the performance of Argos Retail Ltd in the UK.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the start of the group assignment, we agreed on the approaches we could utilise to gather data that were critical for the assignment. All group members agreed that we could use a significant number of sources so that we could provide a report with reliable and valid conclusions. We used more than 30 sources. The sources were from academic journals, business magazines, newspaper articles and labour office reports, among other sources. Various search engines were used to search for various concepts with regard to the assignment. The materials were in relation to our company of analysis and various strategic approaches that could be used to analyse the company. Our team leader also organised for a meeting so that we could have interactions with experts in the field of strategic management. My findings were approved my members in the context of strategic management of Argos Retail Ltd. A critical discussion of the strategic models It has been established that external factors with regard to business organisations could be analysed through the application of various management approaches. An analysis of the company was conducted using the following models and/or theories. PESTEL analysis This framework was utilised in understanding macro-environmental factors that could improve the strategic management of the firm. The report established that Argos Retail Ltd could be analysed as follows using the PESTEL analysis model. Political Several political issues were identified, which could negatively affect the operations of the business organisation. For example, single market policies in the EU. Also, the UK government does not address data security concerns raised by various businesses.Advert ising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Argos Retail Ltd Strategic management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the UK government is committed to offering support for the utilisation of technology and it has a good strategy for small businesses (Amazon 2014; Gov.uk 2014). Environmental In the recent past, air pollution in the UK has increased, but Argos has achieved carbon dioxide reduction target and is conducting best approaches with regard to recycling (BBC 2014f). Argos’ future commitment is focused on impacting the environment positively. This approach would ensure that the organisation would remain in operation because it supports measures that are geared towards preventing environmental degradation (Kluger 2011). Social The cost of living in the UK has fallen significantly and this has resulted in more spending on other things apart from basic needs (Argos 2014a; Argos 2014b; BBC 2014d; BBC 2 014e; BBC 2014g). Immigration affects the UK by increasing consumption of goods (BBC 2014a). In addition, people in the UK have adopted the use of technology, which facilitates purchasing of goods and communications (BBC 2014b). Legal From a legal standpoint, joblessness in the UK has fallen considerably in the recent past. Consumer spending has risen due to an impact from the UK’s GDP. Technological The adoption of IT is helping the UK become a digitalised economy. For example, there is very fast internet on moving vehicles, kids in the UK are using tablets, and shopping centres have a significant number of web users (Argos 2014c; BBC 2014c).Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More SWOT analysis This is a structured strategic management model that could be used to understand internal and external factors that could impact the strategic management of an organisation (Sevkli, Oztekin, Uysal, Torlak, Turkyilmaz Delen 2012; van Wijngaarden, Scholten van Wijk 2012). It analyses the factors that could be favourable or unfavourable for the achievement of the goals of a business establishment. The SWOT analysis of the company concentrated on the external factors that could be threats or opportunities to Argos Retail Ltd. The strengths and weaknesses of the firm could not be considered because they are internal factors. Opportunities Opportunities in the external environment of the company would enable it to improve its performance in the future. A digital economy would ensure that shopping is more convenient. This is illustrated in the growing demand for click and collect (BBC 2013a; Rigby 2014). Changes in consumer behaviour would imply that consumers purchase more products offered by Argos. Another opportunity is the addition to technology, which could facilitate the process of purchasing (BBC 2013b). Threats Stiff competition from businesses that offer similar products would be a threat to the firm (Rugman Lim 2012). Other threats that could negatively impact Argos are threat of data insecurity, negative attitudes towards online stores, and a general decline in profitability of physical stores (Wall 2014). Porter’s five forces This is a strategic management model that is used by business establishments in business strategy development (Lee, Kim Park 2012). The strategic management approach uses components in industrial organisation economics to assess the level of competition and attraction of the market. The model could be used to assess the situation of the organisation as it seeks to improve its market share and competitive advantage. The power of suppliers was found to be weak. Several factors could have led to weak power of su ppliers (Savage 2014). Some of these are pressure on suppliers, several discount requests from retailers, and long waiting time in the retail industry in the UK. Long waiting hours could imply that customers could be impatient and leave shopping centres before they could purchase their products. However, this shortcoming could be effectively addressed through the adoption of the internet in purchasing. The power of buyers was found to be strong. Customers benefit from reduced prices offered by retailers as they seek more customers for increased sales (BBC, 2014h). Online shopping is significantly increasing in the UK and this has resulted in intense competition (BBC, 2013c; Sawas 2012; Tett 2014). Rivalry among businesses in the same field was found to be strong. Intense completion has made businesses adopt many approaches to increasing their customer numbers. For example, low prices and promotions are being used to attract more customers. Threat to market entry was established to b e weak. Technological and mobile advancements hinder new physical entrants. This could imply that it is quite difficult for new firms to gain competitive advantage in the market that supports the operations of Argos. Any new market entrants would be required to invest heavily. The market is characterised by intense competition between online and physical store retailers. The main competitors of Argos are well established. However, Argos is the leading retailer in the European Union (EU). Threat of substitutes with regard to products sold by Argos Retail Ltd was found to be strong. Increased number of substitute goods could imply that products sold by Argos would record low sales. Some substitute goods are from Tesco, Asda, Amazon, and eBay. However, Argos has established own that has found a strategic niche in the market (Asda 2014; Baker 2013). Porter’s diamond model This model is based that proposes that some business establishments or business segments could be more compet itive in specific locations (Carayannis Wang 2012; Mann Byun 2011; Zhao, Zuo, Zillante Zhao 2012). With regard to Argos Retail Ltd, this model considered several clusters where the firm could gain competitive advantage through partnering with other business organisations. The framework was used in the context of understanding competition through the application of the six broad categories outlined below: Factor condition With regard to Argos, the following components were found to be involved in factor condition: Digitalised economy, highly skilled and motivated personnel, strong financial arms, and EU’s leading and most innovative retailer Related and supporting industry This component of the model focuses business factors that support the activities of the firm. Argos Retail Ltd gets support from eBay (Sawas 2013). The firm works with an established delivery firm known as Paracelforce. The organisation has partnered with Vanquis Bank for credit cards. Argos gets contract s from mobile network companies. Its advertising is conducted by Chi Partners Ltd. Vendor Technology Ltd offers Argos Retail Ltd mobile technology applications (Davis 2014; Homeretail 2014). Demand conditions Consumer behavioural change is geared towards online shopping, which could positively affect the sale sales of the company (Flanders 2013; Marston 2014). In fact, online shopping is becoming popular due to its high level of convenience. Based on the current market data, products of the firm are relatively popular (Millett 2013). Thus, the firm would continue making good profits in the future. Strategy and rivalry of the firm From a strategic point of view, the firm has partnered with eBay so that its product innovation could be increased (Ebay 2014). Argos has ensured that it maintains a high level of innovation of its products and that it remains relevant through reinventing digital stores. Some rivals are eBay, Currys, PCWorld, Tesco, and Asda (Essential retail 2014). Key co nclusions and findings Based on the results obtained from the analysis of the strategic models and/or theories, it is clear that Argos Retail Ltd is a business establishment that is operating in an environment that has factors that could ether impact it negatively or positively. It has based its operations on a growing platform of the online shopping so that it could attract a high number of customers who are shifting their behaviours towards the utilisation of the internet for purchasing products. The firm has a huge potential for growth because the government of the UK supports the adoption of e-commerce. In addition, the potential for growth is based on the strong foundation of the company, which focuses on dynamism with regard to changing markets. Although there is stiff competition, the company is strong financially and it is characterised by significant market share. The practical implication for the business organisation is that the market for online products is still huge. I n fact, the company can utilise the various models of strategic marketing to increase its market share in existing markets and gain entry into new markets. If the organisation enters new markets, then it would significantly improve its sales through attracting new customers for its high quality products.This would also enable it to expand to new markets. Key issues and conclusions I have identified key issues and conclusions with regard to the group assignment. First, cooperation is a critical component that greatly increases the chances of a successful completion of group work. When members of a team corporate to carry out group tasks, then they could have better performance outcomes. Second, punctuality was essential in determining the pace at which members of the team could complete their tasks. In fact, we all ensured that were completed our assigned tasks on time. This helped us to focus on the changes we felt could improve the quality of our findings. Third, I have identified that sharing of tasks increases the speed of accomplishing a major project. It could have taken relatively long time for an individual to complete the overall group assignment. However, it took us very short time to complete the task because we shared it equally. Fourth, the use of the internet is very important in conducting research, which leads to valid conclusions. The importance of the internet in the contemporary world cannot be understated. We could find all that we needed on the internet. Thus, the internet facilitated our research and the space at which we concluded our group assignment. How my individual contribution impacted on the group assignment My contributions were important in the following ways: Discussing with my group members about my findings Raising issues about areas that I thought some of our members did not discuss thoroughly Updating my team members on the progress of my individual task Providing a detailed discussion regarding the correlation of internal factors with external factors in relation to Argos Retail Ltd. References Amazon, 2014, http://www.amazon.co.uk/ Argos, 2014a, About us :corporate social responsibility, http://www.argos.co.uk/static/StaticDisplay/includeName/AboutArgos.htm#about Argos, 2014b, Argos and the environment, , http://www.argos.co.uk/static/StaticDisplay/includeName/AboutArgos.htm#environment Argos, 2014c, https://www.argosonline.es/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/LogonForm?langId=-1storeId=39551krypto=Zu4Fj3qUs9pKTShv9nsASBouXfh4KpUxKABLE4f4Bec%3D Asda, 2014, http://www.asda.com/ Baker, R, 2013, Argos creates head of brand role to drive growth, http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/argos-creates-head-of-brand-role-to-drive-growth/4006451.article BBC, 2013a, Argos see successful transaction for click and collect, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21057345 BBC, 2013b, Face book tops Google searches for UK in 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25402626 BBC, 2013c, UK economy will surpass pre-recession pe ak in 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25345249 BBC, 2014a, Big increase in net migration to UK, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26367391 BBC, 2014b, Can we really becomes addicted to technology?, , http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26836457 BBC, 2014c, Faster internet on trains, boats and planes on horizon, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25825694 BBC, 2014d, IMF:UK economic growth to reach 2.9% in 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26935148 BBC, 2014e, Living standards squeeze continues in UK ,says IFS, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25966075 BBC, 2014f, UK air pollution: how bad is it ?, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26851399 BBC, 2014g, UK GDP growth driven by rise in consumer spending, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25118514 BBC, 2014h, UK retail prices see record fall, BRC says, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26950960 Carayannis, EG., Wang, VWL, 2012, ‘Competitiveness model—a double diamond’, Journal of the Knowledge Economy, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 280-293. Davis, D, 2014, A false sense of security that will cost Britain’s tech sector dear, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8356a380-bc06-11e3-84f1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz303FcwuTi Ebay, 2014, http://www.ebay.co.uk/ eMarketer, 2014, UK kids are frequent tablets gamers, http://www.emarketer.com/Article/UK-Kids-Frequent-Tablet-Gamers/1010352 Essential retail, 2014, Argos ramps up digital strategy with mobile NFC, viewed on http://www.essentialretail.com/news/in-store/article/52ea44db90c07-argos-ramps-up-digital-strategy-with-mobile-nfc Flanders, S, 2013, Single market dilemmas on Europe, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22521657 Gov.uk, 2014, Investment programme to encourage lending to SMEs., https://www.gov.uk/investment-programme-to-encourage-lending-to-smes Homeretail, 2014, Argos retain CHI Partners as Advertising companies, http://www.homeretailgroup.com/news-and-media/news.aspx?smlbus=1519article=5407 Johnson, G, Whittington, R, Scholes, K, Pyl e, S, 2011, Exploring strategy: text cases, 8th edn, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Kluger, J, 2011, ‘Beauty and the Bytes’, Special Commemorative Issue , vol. 16,no. 2,pp. 30-35. Lee, H, Kim, MS., Park, Y, 2012, ‘An analytic network process approach to operationalization of five forces model’, Applied Mathematical Modelling, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 1783-1795. Mann, M, Byun, SE, 2011, ‘Accessing opportunities in apparel retail sectors in India: Porter’s diamond approach’, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 194-210. Marston, R, 2014, Retail revolution: Online’s promise and challenge, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25653707 Millett, C, 2013, Argos sets up mobile plans with online pus, , http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/news/industry/26056/Argos_steps_up_mobile_plans_with_online_push.aspx Perdana, A, Roshetko, JM, Kurniawan, I, 2012, ‘Forces of competition: smallholding teak producers in Indonesia’, International Forestry Review, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 238-248. 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Savage, R, 2014, Argos and homebase turn the screw on suppliers, http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/1230020/argos-homebase-turn-screw-suppliers/ Sawas, A, 2012, Argos stores to be closed to boost online sales, http://www.cio.co.uk/news/strategy/argos-stores-be-closed-boost-online-sales/ Sawas, A, 2013, Ebay and Argos to offer join click and collect parcel service, http://www.cio.co.uk/news/r-and-d/ebay-argos-join-forces-offer-click-collect-parcel-service/ Sevkli, M, Oztekin, A, Uysal, O, Torlak, G, Turkyilmaz, A, Delen, D, 2012, ‘Development of a fuzzy ANP based SWOT analysis for the airline industry in Turkey’, Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 14-24. Tesco, 2014, http://www.tesco.com/ Tett, G, 2014, Digital v human: the new debate. , http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/74875576-b539-11e3-af92-00144feabdc0.html van Wijngaarden, JD, Scholten, GR., van Wijk, KP, 2012, ‘Strategic analysis for health care organizations: the suitability of the SWOT†analysis’, The International journal of health planning and management, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 34-49. Wall, M, 2014, Start-ups challenge big banks’ technology, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25911784 Zhao, ZY, Zuo, J, Zillante, G, Zhao, XJ, 2012, ‘Foreign architectural and engineering design firms’ competitiveness and strategies in China: A diamond model study’, Habitat International, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 362-370. Appendices Appendix 1: A diagram showing PESTEL analysis components Appendix 2: A diagram showing SWOT an alysis components Appendix 3: A diagram showing Porter’s five forces. Appendix 4: A diagram showing Porter’s diamond model This critical writing on Argos Retail Ltd Strategic management was written and submitted by user Reece Diaz to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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We exchanged greetings and my immediate boss briefed me about the business activities of GSP and about my job. Later I met with Mr. HMT, who welcomed me to the company and handed my employment contract to me. I was shocked to notice that the contract had much lesser salary than what had been promised. It also stated my visa category as simply sales. No executive, no assistant, nothing. I later found out this category of visa is possibly the lowest, more or less equivalent to a clerk. Practically no company should employ me under that category owing to my qualification. I was even rejected to apply driving license with this visa. But my superiors were quick to convince me this is normal. Even though so much was not right, I still didnt express my disappointments to others (I usually dont). I was instructed to be trained for probation period of 6 months. In the very first week, I also learned GSP staffs are working more than 8 hours even after 6pm. I didnt have a clue so I left promptly at 6pm. My line manager called me one day and enquired about me leaving early. I was puzzled and tried to justify that I dont leave during office hours, but even though he advised me to stay until other staffs leave. Again I soon learned the reason behind it. Mr. HMT arrives office at 11am and stays in office till 8pm. He might need some staffs randomly after 6pm so most of them stayed in office till 8pm even though they arrive at 9am in the morning. No policy for overtime pay in place for staffs. Couple of managers quit their jobs within two months of my recruitment but their vacancies were not filled. So I was also assigned additional responsibilities in operations department as GSP was understaffed. Eventually I recognized I was deprived of all the promises made to me. No proper salary, no decent accommodation and no proper working condition. This is when I lost all hope and was very depressed. I was considering to quit my job and go back to India. Applying Motivation Theory: Abraham Maslow argued the content theory which aims to rectify the confusion between drives and motives. He claims that we have innate needs or motives (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). The Fig 1 shows the hierarchy which Maslow framed in detail. Figure 1: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (Source: Maslow and Lewis, 1987) Physiological needs are to the basic elements to survive for any human being which needs to be satisfied before aspiring for the next need which is social and security. Then comes affiliation needs and self-esteem. If these needs are satisfied, we can feel confident whereas if not, we tend to feel inferior and helpless. Self-actualization is the ultimate goal for any individual (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Recommendations: In my case, I began to feel de-motivated because I was cheated with false promise of better salary, accommodation and decent work condition. What I failed to understand initially was that I already have satisfied physiological and safety/security needs. I earned enough to feed myself and had a safe place to live and work. Secondly, I maintained good relationship with my colleagues and housemates, also made few friends. Moreover, I realised I was more confident in communication and analytics at work than my colleagues. All these factors combined, gave me a self-realisation that I am doing good for my age and the little experience I have gained. It motivated me to push harder. I felt proud and appreciated by Mr. HMT when I achieved the sales target the very first month I was given full responsibility when my boss was on holiday. Organisational Culture is the collective values, traditions and practices that are relatively similar among the employees of an organisation. Culture varies from one organisation to another and it is argued that the culture also affects the performance of an organisation. Therefore it is essential for managers to control organisations culture (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Work Situation II: Although ETA is a MNC, its employees are predominantly South Indians. This is mainly because the South Indian business heads are more comfortable working with people from this region. I was also comfortable learning from those people since I am also a South Indian. But there are certain practices that I cannot agree with them. I noticed most of the employees of GSP were servile to Mr. HMT. It was obvious for me to notice these employees behaviour. They are so obsequious to please Mr. HMT. But I couldnt understand if Mr. HMT is not noticing this or if he is oddly comfortable with it. This behaviour of those employees (including few managers) can be attributed to their expectations to progress in work, pay etc. Some employees even degraded themselves to the level of doing household chores for Mr. HMT. There were even few cases where these managers tried to make me oblige to this custom which I had politely refused to do in multiple instances. This behaviour shocked and disgusted me. When Mr. HMT was dismissed in 2015, none of the so-called loyal employees were willing to join him in his new company. They all wanted to transfer to different divisions within ETA for accumulating end of service gratuity and other reasons. After I and Mr. HMT quit from ETA, I brought this matter to his attention during a casual conversation. He confessed that he knew but was oblivious to it and this culture was prevailing within the organisation since he started working in ETA 27 years ago. His realisation about his employees was already too late. Applying Organization Culture Theory: Edgar Schein argued organisations have three levels of culture as depicted below in fig2. The first level is the surface manifestation of culture where the organisations culture is most visible to its customers, visitors and employees. This may include artefacts, ceremonies, norms etc. Second level are the organisations values which underpins the surface manifestations. Although not visible, individuals could be made aware and it distinguishes one organisation from another. The behaviour of all the employees are guided similarly and given a common direction by the values of the organisation.. These values affect the final level which is the basic assumption, which according to Schein is the culture of the organisation. Assumptions are the behavioural aspects which are preconscious, unseen and taken for granted (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Figure 2: Scheins three levels of culture (Source: Schein, 1985) Recommendations: In case of GSP, many staffs sought benefits by other means, rather than by improving work performance, it also had an impact on the overall performance of the company. This behaviour can be attributed to Scheins theory as basic assumption of ETA employees were less than noble. Since I was new to the company, initially I could only see surface manifestation level of ETA and when I coped up to work with these people, I could clearly see what their basic assumption of working for this organisation was and how their values affected it. As the head of GSP, Mr. HMT needed to have addressed this culture at his level when he had the chance. Moreover it should have been controlled by the senior management of ETA and maintained a healthy culture before it infuriated the Arab partners and the companys reputation was damaged. Better work environment can be achieved by applying organisational theories. All employees are directly affected by whatever is happening in an organisation. It is all attributable to human behaviour. With better understanding of organisational behaviour, managers can effectively influence employee behaviours to do achieve better outcome as discussed in these above scenarios. References Built on trust (2017) Available at: http://www.etaascon.com/ (Accessed: 24 January 2017). Cole, G.A., 1995. Organisational behaviour: Theory and practice. Cengage Learning EMEA. Huczynski, A.A. and Buchanan, D.A. (2001) Organizational behaviour. 4th edn. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education. Maslow, A. and Lewis, K.J., 1987. Maslows hierarchy of needs. Salenger Incorporated, p.14. Schein, E.H. (1985) Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Aimster Debate :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The idea of sharing media files over the Internet has become a controversial subject as of late. While file sharing applications such as Napster are currently under fire from the US government and from Music Recording companies, one would think that no one would try to mimic Napster’s technology. Johnny Deep, a computer consultant in Troy, New York, has been hailed as the creator of â€Å"The Next Napster†. Deep is the mind behind â€Å"Aimster†, named after his daughter, Aimee. Aimster piggybacks the common and very popular instant- messaging services such as AOL Instant Messenger, AOL, and MSN Messaging Service. Aimster, a free download from www.aimster.com, allows users to swap files with users on the buddy lists, or there is the option of searching all Aimster users with a â€Å"guest† option. Not only can users share audio files; they can share their pictures, their winamp playlists, and any other file on their computer. As of Janu ary 2001 Aimster racked up over 3 million users worldwide. AOL and other messaging services cannot block Aimster use, since it does not run through ISP Servers, rather, every Aimster member’s personal computer acts as a server.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The controversy continues as more and more Napster wanna-be’s are thrown into the mix. Deep believes that the Recording Industry will have less of a problem with his software, since Aimster users only share their files with friends and family on their buddy list, an act that is similar to loaning a CD to a friend – which is hardly illegal. In interview, Deep was quoted as saying â€Å"A lot of people say we’ll be sued not because we are doing anything wrong, but because we are successful.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my opinion, file-sharing should not be getting the negative media attention that it does. I am an avid user of all file-sharing applications: Napster, Aimster, KaZaA and scour. I have over 600 mp3 files on my computer, and I’m downloading three more while I type this. I use file sharing not only as a way to download a song that I hear on the radio, but to look for new music.

Positioning and Repositioning

Positioning and repositioning Before positioning companies has to do segmentation and targeting. Segmentation is dividing the market into segments upon some set of criteria and evaluating the profitability of each segment   Targeting is selecting one or more segments and going after them Positioning is how do you want your brand to be considered by consumers when compared to other competing brands. Positioning is based on product features such as color, price, fluffiness, quality of service, innovative approach, etc.Re-positioning is when you want your brand to be considered/associated with different features. For example, KIA cars has repositioned themselves from being some brand into being a cool brand .. Cadillac has repositioned themselves from being classical car for the rich and old into more affordable elegant car †¦ Oldsmobile has tried to reposition themselves as â€Å"not your father's car† but it was unsuccessful repositioning. Re-positioning is quite lot mor e difficult and expensive compared to initial positioning.You know the saying ‘only one chance to make first impression' also applies to the world of branding. Repositioning Strengthens Lifebuoy’s 107-Year Heritage 12-02-2002  : Lifebuoy is no longer a carbolic soap with cresylic perfume. It is now a milled toilet soap with a new health fragrance. The new formulation has an ingredient, Active-B, which offers protection against germs, which can cause stomach infection, eye infection and infections in cuts and bruises. The new health perfume has been selected after one of the most extensive perfume hunts in the industry.The new milled formulation offers a significantly superior bathing experience and skin feel. The new formulation, new health perfume and superior skin feel, along with the popular red colour, have registered conclusive and clear preference among existing and new users. Lifebuoy is already used by about 600 million consumers, with about 2 million tablets sold every day. The relaunch strengthens this equity by repositioning the brand. Lifebuoy was previously targeted at the male user with an individual-oriented â€Å"success through health† positioning.The new Lifebuoy is targeted at today’s discerning housewife with a more inclusive â€Å"family health protection for my family and me† positioning. Introducing the new Lifebuoy Introducing the new Lifebuoy, Mr. Sanjay Dube, Category Head – Mass Market of HLL’s Detergents Profit Centre, said, â€Å"Launched in 1895, Lifebuoy, for over a 100 years has been synonymous with health and value. The brick red soap, with its perfume and popular Lifebuoy jingle, has carried the Lifebuoy message of health across the length and breadth of the country, making it the largest selling soap brand in the world.It is to maintain its leadership, and further strengthen its benefits of health to larger sections of consumers, that we have researched and developed this new mix. We have repositioned Lifebuoy and have made a deliberate shift from the male, victorious concept of health to a warmer, more versatile, more responsible benefit of health for the entire family. â€Å"The significant changes in formulation have registered a clear consumer preference. The new perfume has been selected after one of the largest perfume tests in the industry to ensure a universal appeal without alienating the 600 million loyal users.We are confident that this mix will deliver an enjoyable bath experience and also deliver on the core Lifebuoy properties of health and value. This will restore the brand’s growth by expanding its consumer base, † Mr. Dube added. Lifebuoy Range Lifebuoy is among HLL’s power brands, which the company is focussing on, selected on the basis of their absolute size, brand strength, brand relevance, competitive advantage and potential for growth. The new Lifebuoy range now includes Lifebuoy Active Red (125gm, 100 gm and 6 0 gm) and Lifebuoy Active Orange (100gm).Lifebuoy Active Orange offers the consumer a differentiated health perfume while offering the health benefit of Lifebuoy. At the upper end of the market, Lifebuoy offers specific health benefits through Lifebuoy International (Plus and Gold). Lifebuoy International Plus offers protection against germs which cause body odour, while Lifebuoy International Gold helps protect against germs which cause skin blemishes. In 2001, HLL’s soaps & detergents turnover was Rs. 295 crores, which is approximately 39% of the company’s net turnover of Rs. 10972 crores. HLL’s power brands in soaps registered an overall growth of 5. 3% in 2001. HLL has been significantly increasing investment behind its power brands, in innovation, quality improvement and marketing. These have been backed by major sales initiatives. In rural India, the focus is to further extend reach, which has resulted in direct coverage of about 46% of the rural populatio n as of now. In urban markets, the objective is to improve customer service.Dedicated sales teams have been formed to service key accounts and wholesalers in larger towns and cities. A cell has been set up to attend to the modern trade, comprising chain stores. Repositioning Strengthens of Maggie positioning Maggi noodles is a brand of instant noodles manufactured by Nestle. Maggi has been the highest sold noodles in India. It is a product of Nestle Brand. It took several years and lots of money for nestle to establish its noodles brand in India Maggi was invented in Europe by a person named Jullius Maggi.In India it was launched in 1980s by Nestle group of companies. Maggie had merged with Nestle family in 1947. Maggie has faced lot of hurdles in its journey in India†¦. The basic problem the brand faced was the Indian psyche. i. e Indians used to be conservative about the food habits so noodles faced a lot of problem in promoting sales. Initially nestle tried to to position th e Noodles in the platform of convenience targeting the working women. However, the sales of Maggi was not picking up despite of heavy Media Advertising.To overcome this NIL conducted a research,which revealed that it was children who liked the taste of Maggi noodles and who were the largest consumers of the product. so they came up with Maggi- 2 minute noodles with price of Rs. 2. 10 with a close of 100% margin. NIL shifted its focus from working women and targeted children and their mothers through its marketing. NIL's promotions positioned the noodles as a ‘convenience product', for mothers and as a ‘fun' product for children. The noodles' tagline,  Ã¢â‚¬ËœFast to Cook Good to Eat' was also in keeping with this positioning.They promoted the product by   1. Distributing free samples. 2. Giving gifts on return of empty packets. 3. Dry sampling-distributing Maggi packets 4. wet sampling – distributing cooked Maggi. 5. Availability in different packages 50gm,100 gm,200gm,etc.. and 6. Effective Tagline Communication. Through its ads, NIL positioned Maggi as a ‘fun' food for kids which mothers could prepare easily. Taglines like ‘Mummy, bhookh lagi hai' (Mom, I'm hungry), ‘Bas 2-Minute,' and ‘Fast to Cook Good to Eat' effectively communicated the product's benefits to target consumers.These ads had become so popular that the tagline ‘Bas 2-Minute' immediately reminded Indian consumers of Maggi noodles even several years after the ads were taken off the TV. Maggi's first product extension was Maggi instant soups launched in 1988. With the launch of Maggi soups, NIL had become a pioneer in the organized packaged soup market in India.. since then Maggi has been successful in India and launched ketch ups sauces and soups in India, which was very successful in grasping market.Though NIL tried to extend to other ready to eat products like pickles, cooking aids and paste, It was unsuccessful so dumped those products. Ma ggi is competing with Heinz Sauces and Ketchup, Knoor Soups, Kissin Sauces and Ketchup, Top Ramen, Sunfeast Pasta Wai Wai and 2 PM in corresponding categories of products and variants. Market position of Maggie: 1. No. 1 in instant noodles and sauces. 2. No. 2 in healthy soups. 3. Market share of noodles- 80% 4. current sales-5. 5crores boxes in India. Repositioning

Comparative Contrasts Abstract Expressionists

Comparative Contrasts Abstract Expressionists Free Online Research Papers This paper will discuss, and compare three abstract expressionists, their artwork, their ideas, and their emotion involved in these works of art. They are primarily from the same time period. Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), Milton Resnick (1917-2004), and Mark Rothko (1903-1970). All of the artists use deep, rich color to covey feeling or emotion to the viewer. The first abstract expressionist artist that I chose was Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), and his painting â€Å"Elegy to the Spanish Republic No.34 (1953-1954)† oil on canvas. â€Å"Robert Motherwell was born on January 24, 1915 in Aberdeen, Washington. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Stanford University in 1937† (artinthepicture, 2008). In 1948 Robert Mother started on the Elegy theme, a series of over 150 images. This series would absorb his interests for the rest of his life. Elegy is defined by Webster’s dictionary as â€Å"a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead† (Webster’s, 2008). The â€Å"Elegy† series is about the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, No. 34 specifically is about General Francisco Franco cru shing the burgeoning democratic movement in Spain. In this painting Motherwell used simple contrasting colors, predominantly black, and white, but also subtle uses of red, yellow, and blue in the background. Motherwell simply explained the meaning of the black and white colors simply stating that black is to white as death is to life. He also said â€Å"he never considered his paintings to be abstract† (Sayer, 2007). The best-worded description of the painting is â€Å"simplistic death†. The long black irregular shapes seem to drop from above to invade and divide the white rectangular zones, in poetry of death. â€Å"Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 34 stands as modern testimony to the rich legacy of some of the oldest tenets of the concept of style in western art† (Habel, Hiles, 2000). The second abstract artist I chose was Milton Resnick (1917-2004), and his painting â€Å"U+Me (1995)†oil on canvas. Milton Resnick was born on January 7,1917 in Bratslav, Russia, and immigrated to the United States in 1922. â€Å"Milton Resnick was one of the last survivors from the New York School of painters, also known as the Abstract Expressionists†(oregonstate, 2006). â€Å"U+ME† is one of a series of 5 large oil paintings themed â€Å"Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden†. In this oil painting Milton Resnick uses a unique technique called scrumbling. Scrumbling is the technique of working one layer of oil paint over another of a different color with out entirely annihilating the preceding layer, or layers. Milton’s particular style of painting is done without any practice, a plan, or a preliminary drawing, its just done with a brush mark and a feeling of where he’s going (Sayer, 2007). Milton stated that â€Å"the feeling doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t have to be physical, but it has to be as if I came at you and you were frightened†(Sayer, 2007). A brief description of this painting would be that the painting resonate a sense of death approaching. â€Å"The background fields remain true to Resnicks earlier styles, with horizon less expanses of browns, Prussian blues, and dusty yellows. The figures simply float over this like ghostly Apparitions, highlighted with shocks of impasto white† (Zissner, 2000). They seem to have very short arms, or maybe theyve been violently cut off. â€Å"The tree is similarly stunted, and draws a similarity to a cross† (Sayer, 2007). The last abstract artist that I chose was Mark Rothko (1903-1970), and his painting â€Å"Four Darks in Red (1958)† oil on canvas. â€Å"Mark Rothko was born in Daugavpils, Latvia (a part of Russia), and imagrated to the United States in 1914 â€Å"(guggenheimcollection, 2007). Mark Rothko stated, â€Å"he was only interested in expressing the basic human emotions in his paintings; tragedy, ecstasy, doom and so on† (Sayer, 2007). â€Å"His art is known for its subtle colors, firm structures, rich variations, and absence of explicit imagery† (MPG, 2004). Most viewers’ think of his art as rational, and opulent. This painting seems to convey to it viewers that the red and black emotions come at night, when you are alone and most vulnerable, black being the largest of the rectangles, with the misty red emerging at the bottom. Giving the impression that the emotions are solid, even tangible as though they are deeply saturated with heat. It’s the colors one would imagine a human heart to be. â€Å"Although many people seem to have great difficulty determining the vanishing point of this painting, its not hard to find if one draws lines through the tops and bottoms of the columns on the left† (MPG, 2008). In comparing these three paintings, â€Å"Four Darks in Red (1958)† by Mark Rothko, â€Å"U+Me (1995)† by Milton Resnick, and â€Å"Elegy to the Spanish Republic No.34 (1953-1954)† by Robert Motherwell. These paintings have a lot of similarities. The first, and most the predominate similarity is that all of the before mentioned artists use a layering technique in these particular paintings. The most extensive of these paintings in using the laying technique was done by Milton Resnick, in â€Å"U+Me (1995)†. This painting is shown developing in â€Å"The World of Art, Fifth addition by Henry M. Sayer†. These three pictures give you a general, but a good idea on how this painting unfolded in its design, and creation. It’s a very unique view on how this painting started, you would have never thought that the painting would have been completed the way it was, but yet it was necessary to see it in this light to understand the depth of the wor k involved. Resnick believed â€Å"that it was important to be open to previously unthought-of possibilities in the act of painting and to that extent angst, or the discomfort of not knowing while painting was considered a virtue† (Manister, 2004). Mark Rothko’s Four Darks in Red† more simplistic in design than â€Å"U+Me†, but yet has a carefully modulated field of color that suggests to several of it viewers â€Å"dawn†, without a realistic image. This warm, but somewhat ominous painting suggests dark feelings. This painting is 102 by 116 inches. It can be viewed in the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, New York. From the simplest stick figures drawn in sand with a stick, or from the earliest man painting animals on cave walls, or carving images in wood, bone, or stone, people all around the world have responded to the world by creating images of some kind. The primary purpose of art, particularly in the past, was to suggest a sense of meaning, and express essential thoughts, or feelings like in abstract expressionism; some kind of enlightenment is what was crucial in every culture, by stunning images. In identifying the subject material of any painting, or what feelings the artist was trying to express, you have to look at the artists intent, which are frequently associated with the social conditions, national issues, the burdens of the population, or even their own personal problems. To avoid judging art by our own personal experiences, and biased views, we have to learn the backgrounds surrounding the artist when their work was created. Horrendous tragedies, life changing moments in life, religious experiences, or just pure mysticism, these are the types of things that are often reflected in these types works. Trends, and fads are lead by mass media, and most artists struggle to do anything to get this type of recognition, or exposure, but these three artists stand out from the crowd. Their diversity differentiates from the artists of their era, and even today. This diversity is characteristic of abstract expressionism, and each of their style reflects different types of feelings, and emotions. Some aspects of contemporary society will always analyze, these styles trying to rationalize them, but through their paintings, these artist express their ideas, their emotions, as well as some strange version of the reality that they, and only they may perceive, in a two dimensional visual form that’s poetic, and even hypnotic. Some artists paint, sculpt, or even take photographs, but these visionaries strayed away from traditional forms, with which their viewers are generally familiar with, and strived to create a visual representation of a physical feeling, entirely through an abstract relationship. All of these paintings were created in different ways using slightly different techniques, with different colors, shapes, and they convey a different range of emotion, but all were created by the masters of the craft; â€Å"Abstract Expressionism†. References 1) Style and abstraction by: Dorothy Metzger Habel, Ph.D.Timothy W. Hiles, Ph.D. Downloaded from website: http://edtech.tennessee.edu/itc/grants/twt2000/modules/dhabel/home.htm 2) Robert Motherwell biography downloaded on February 1, 2008 from website artinthepicture.com/artists/Robert_Motherwell/biography.html 3) Definition of Elegy, Webster’s Online Dictionary downloaded on February 1, 2008 from website: m-w.com/ 4) Robert Motherwell quote; Sayre, H.M., 2007 A World of Art (5th Ed.) 5) Milton Resnick Biography Oregon State University downloaded on February 1,2008 from website: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/video/art24.html 6) Milton Resnick quote; Sayre, H.M., 2007 A World of Art (5th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. 7) Milton Resnick description of U + ME Sayre, H.M., 2007 A World of Art (5th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. 8) Milton Resnick, U + ME by John Zissner downloaded on February 1, 2008 from website: artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/reviews/zinsser/zinsser1.asp 9) Mark Rothko Biography downloaded on February 1, 2008 from website: guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_138.html 10) Mark Rothko quote; Sayre, H.M., 2007 A World of Art (5th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. 11) Mark Rothko the early years downloaded on February 1, 2008 from website: nga.gov/feature/rothko/credits.shtm 12) Mark Rothko modern art famous paintings downloaded on February 1, 2008 from website: 13) masterpiece-paintings-gallery.com/mark-rothko-1.htm 14) Sayre, Henry. (2007). A World of Art, Fifth Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. 15) Milton Resnick: Dour? By Craig Manister, Downloaded on February 7, 2008 From website: artezine.com/issues/20040501/cmres.html Research Papers on Comparative Contrasts Abstract ExpressionistsThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHip-Hop is ArtBringing Democracy to AfricaWhere Wild and West MeetHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Fifth HorsemanCapital PunishmentHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayMind TravelPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

schooling should not be compulsory

I believe that schooling should not be compulsory. Making school education voluntary would actually educate people who want to learn in a better manner, increase high school safety, and be less of a detriment to our rights. First of all, making a child goto school for about six hours a day, 180 days a year, for about ten years, is a violation of his or her liberties. Keep in mind that the child has to attend until the legal age (16 in many states), whether or not the child learns anything or could learn it faster or better somewhere else. The government says it has a "compelling interest" in the education of children. This might be true, but that doesnt give them the right to make it compulsory. If something like public schooling was compulsory for adults, there would be public uproar. While parents do have alternatives to government run schools, such as private schools and homeschooling, these alternatives are implausible for most parents. In any case, the parent really doesnt get to decide whether to send their child to school, they just get to decide which government approved schooling method to send their kids to. This goes back to one principle given the chance, governments think noth! ing of telling parents how to raise their children. Forced attendance also has the effect of letting children who do not want to be in school disrupt those who do. Children vary widely. It is not fair for both people who want to be in school and people who dont. Overall, this has had a negative impact on both the education given by schools and the safety of the schools. When compulsory attendance laws were first instituted, there was no objection that such laws would endanger the safety and even the lives of teachers and of students who wanted to be in school. Things have changed. Forcing a person who does not want to learn to be present in school anyway may do little for the student, as evidenced by the fact that many...

Law assignment 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law assignment 3 - Coursework Example 2. By publishing the description of a man sought for questioning, the mass media could actually create a risk of serious prejudice to an active case. But in this scenario, the case is inactive and the man is merely sought for the purposes of question clarification. Therefore, the media can warn the public about the dangers of dealing with this man. This is so that the public may be warned in case the person sought is armed or violent in some ways. Public safety is of the utmost concern in such situations. However, once a warrant of arrest is issued, the media will no longer be able to use the mans name or description as it would serve a prejudicial purpose in the case. 3. Section 4 (1) is the ruling that protects court reporters from being accused of contempt because it states that â€Å"a person cannot be found guilty of contempt under the Strict Liability Rule† in relation to â€Å"fair and accurate report of legal proceedings held in public published contemporaneously and in good faith.† That is provided that there has been no court order pertaining to the postponement of reports on certain legal matters or bans on the identification of the person and other information. The ruling applies regardless of the judge not issuing or postponing a banning order. This ruling is further supported by Section 4(2) which is the postponement order. This postponement order allows the courts to prevent the media from reporting on a court case or a portion of a court case. This is done in order to â€Å"avoid substantial risk of prejudice† to other facets of the case in the upcoming or later stages. This ruling does not put a permanent ban on media coverage of an issue. There is an expectation that certain reporting rules may eventually relax in relation to prejudice in the case. A challenge may be posed to Section 4(2) if a ban is placed on the publication of certain situations that should not

Government attempts to infringe on freedom of the press that allows Research Paper

Government attempts to infringe on freedom of the press that allows citizens to access information - Research Paper Example The paper will address various ways in which the government is trying to control the freedom of the press. There has been recent evidence of the administration trying to control stories aired in the newsroom. The attempt has been through the federal communication commission (FCC) (Devon 1). The attempt has been through an investigation done by â€Å"Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs† (Devon 1). In this initiative, there is an attempt to gather information from television and radio broadcasters. The aim is to establish the process by which stories are selected (Devon 1). Moreover, the information collected through the initiative is used to designate â€Å"station priorities† (Devon 1). This is believed that it will help to filter content production quality, and the population served. The initiative is also meant to ensure there is no station bias and regulate exposure to critical information. It is assumed that if successful, the FCC agents will have the authority to visit newsrooms (Devon 1). The agent has also made an opinion on the key topics the government think could be covered with news outlets. The idea is a reflection of the federal government attempt to suggest a topic for media news coverage. The FCC has also focused on reporting. The agent has made an attempt to show what is appropriate to report. The same agent is the one responsible for issuance of licenses to the broadcasters. The conflict of interest may act in compelling the media to follow the FCC instructions (Devon 1). Hence, failure to comply with the set standards may lead to media being threatened by penalties and license revocation. On the other hand, the department of justice is also seen trying to control the press. There has been a report of the department tracking the movement of reporters (Fox News Insider 1). An example has been recent tracking of Fox News correspondent James Rosen (Fox News Insider 1). The tracking has bee on