Crossing Borders of the United States Term Paper

Crossing Borders of the United States - Term Paper Example Not only has the population increase, but the immigration also influenced the nation culturally, socially, and politically. The Latinos’ population growth is higher than the population growth in the blacks. That is why the Spanish language has spread all over the country. There are The Spanish language has spread nationwide, and it is the accepted language in the workplace. There are also various Asian languages spoken all over the country. There are also many bilingual and multilingual schools have been established nationwide (Wilkinson 1). 2.A. Interests and Incentives for Immigration Men move from one country to another for various complex reasons. Some of them are forced to move out of their home country due to some serious disagreement or prejudices, while the others willingly move abroad. Whatever be the reasons, the immigrants face various social, cultural and other difficulties in the new nation. Most of the migrants courageously face these difficulties mainly to recov er their present economic status, as about all of them likely to move to the more developed nations for better earnings. After globalization, the movement of the labor force has been increased. 2.B. Social status and working condition of the immigrants in the receiver countries Henry in her paper explores that immigrants in the United Nations is socially accepted depending on the international position of their home country. She cited examples that the immigrants from the Northwest European countries are always socially accepted with high status. After globalization, people from Japan are also getting high social status in the country. The social status of China is day by day growing after 1990s due to its economic and armed forces’ strength. Immigrants from the African countries are always been treated with lowest status (Henry, 1). Orrenius and Zavodny in their paper indicates that the immigrants work in more risky jobs in their workplaces that their native counterparts. Th ey found that the immigrants take on more risky ventures in more dangerous industries.  

Appraising (Human Resource management) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Appraising (Human Resource management) - Essay Example ld base the annual performance appraisal on both the performance shown by the employee till this point since the start of the year, and that shown by the employee from this point in the year onward till its end. In other words, the performance shown by the employee for the previous objectives whose duration is from the start till the middle of the year does not go waste. However, since it is a little complicated for the employee to abruptly exercise a radical change in his/her work responsibilities, it is imperative that the meetings between the manager and the employee from this point onwards till the end of the year are made more frequent. This means that if previously, two meetings were arranged, then after the change, there should be four meetings from the middle to the end of the year. This would provide the manager with an opportunity to monitor more closely whether the employee is working to achieve the new assigned goals or

Business overview of Primark Stores Limited

Business overview of Primark Stores Limited Primark Stores Limited is an Irish clothing retailer. Its stores are located in various regions like United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands and Belgium. Primark stores day by day increasing its number of new clothing stores, with Two hundred and seven stores overall distributed in seven major regions: one hundred -five in the United Kingdom, thirty-eight in Ireland, eighteen in Spain, one in Netherland, one in Belgium, two in Germany and two in Portugal. The company also positions itself as marketing fashionable at competitive prices. Arthur Ryan and his collaborator Micaela Mitchell open its first clothing store in Dublin Ireland in 1969. After various success in clothing business, great profits and gross income led them to open stores in local and regional areas. It acquired various locations in different business centers within its local and regional areas which eventually generate more profits and income. Primark is known for selling clothes at very competitive prices in the market. Its success is based on sourcing supply, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics and targets young, fashion-conscious individuals ages 35 below, offering them simple yet high quality clothes and apparels. Hence, these successes brought significant changes on Primarks retail business. Success after success by opening new stores every year the relevance of global trends and consumers demands on lifestyle made Primark Store Limited reinvent its business scheme and management structure. http://www.primark.co.uk Primark Overview Primark Stores Limited is an Irish clothing retailer. Its stores are located in various regions like United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Belgium. The company positions itself as marketing fashionable at competitive prices. It is a great place to go for stylish, trendy clothes without the expensive price tag. Whether its on the go or for something which can make up to look like a high street find. It has 207 branches in UK and Europe by November 4, 2010. These are as follows; Ireland 38 Spain 18 UK 145 The Netherlands 1 Portugal 2 Germany 2 Belgium 1 Total 207 The clothes in Primark are fashionable and trendy. Womens Wear: Party dresses, Work or holiday clothing, Lingerie, Accessories and Foot wear Mens wear: Casual or formal clothes, everyday essentials and footwear Childrens Wear: Fashion or essentials products for girls, boys and baby wear. Jewelry: Jewelry is the favorite part; it includes childrens mini jewelry and adults jewelry. The prices are very reasonable. Everybody can afford those prices very easily. Home: Bed sheets, towels, curtains, duvet covers and pillows Other Items: Other items include bags, belts, purses etc. Style, quality and affordable prices all rolled into one at Primark. The original clothing store was established by Arthur Ryan and his collaborator Micaela Mitchell in Dublin Ireland in 1969. After various success in clothing business, great profits and gross income led them to open stores in local and regional areas. Primark employs simple managerial operation on its stores structure. Every store has its own manager who is responsible in overseeing the status and business operations. Managers are given the power and control to manage the store within his/her point of responsibility. Assistant and deputy managers are also assigned to control and manage the store in smaller or larger branches. Within the store, there are different subdivided departments in which a manager is assigned like senior department managers and junior department managers who are in charge for individual departments. Moreover, under management, there are supervisors in charge of staff on a sales floor, on different departments like stock room staff, customer service staff, customer service desk, cashiers who work on the tills, cash office staff and staff responsible to look after fitting rooms. Source: www.primark.co.uk PRIMARK OBJECTIVES AND AIMS To provide good quality products for the public; we want the public to realise we are a good company and just because our products are cheap, it doesnt mean that they are rubbish. We will achieve this by having our products made by people that know what they are doing and test them to check that they are good quality. To sell goods at reasonable prices; We want the public to have a wide range of options to them, so we offer them good quality products at reasonable prices; This will be achieved by looking at other stores, selling similar products, and making our prices lower than other places. To be friendly and helpful towards customers and staff; The public need to think that we are a friendly company; this will make them want to come to our store if they feel welcome. We will achieve this by greeting customers as soon as possible and making those feels welcomed. To treat everybody the same; The public need to feel like we treat everybody the same. The people with less money will be treated the same as people that have lots of money. This will be achieved by making everyone in the store feel individual; we will make everyone feel like they are special . http://www.blurtit.com/q2904588.html November 8, 2010. 18:53 Definition of the Market The METRO cash and carry business lies in the Monopolistic Competition. There are few sellers and each has its own specialization and it charge the prices according to the product quality and characteristics. There is no entry or exit barrier in this market. Even five more cash and carry businesses are allowed by government to open their branches in Pakistan. Market Focus and Segmentation Segmentation METRO segmentation of customers is mainly concerned with the two factors, Retailers, and professionals of every sector and kind. Segmentation We design the proper segmentation of the METRO Cash and Carry: Geographic Region South Asia Country Pakistan State Punjab City Lahore, Islamabad Demographic Occupation HoReCa Income Level Minimum Rs.20000 Economic factor Inflation, reduced Productivity Psychographic Social Class Working Class (Retailers and Professionals) Buying Habits Convenience Perception High Quality with low price Personality Profit Conscious Behavioral Benefits Shopping at one place, Customer Care Usage rate weekly Occasion Regular Loyalty status Strong customer relationship Readiness Stage Desirous source (www.metro.pk) Targeting The targeting strategy of METRO cash Carry depends upon the segmentation. METRO carries the differentiated market targeting strategy. They take the whole customers as a market and carry out the marketing strategy same for the whole. At this time METRO cash and carry is concerning with the differentiation strategy. They can also come up with the focus strategy for the retailers so that they think that METRO cares them and conducting a major portion of business just for the retailers. It will convince and internally force them to come to METRO just to admire its services and respect to the retailers. Is it a focussed strategy? Yes in the sense that all their customers are users of databases. No in the sense that they are all different sizes and sectors. Also -WellData do not sell the software applications licenses. They can, and do, sometimes sell hardware but this is as a convenience for their customers. Is it a differentiation strategy? Yes in the sense that they are looking specifically at wholesalers and retailers. Yes as their approach to the core function is fundamentally different to the rest of the marketplace (no fail). Yes as they have a key Business Ready report for customers before the start of the working day. Yes as all technical staff are employed and not contracted. On balance this seems to be a differentiated approach Is it a cost leadership strategy? Possibly. Because they always believe in low prices. . METRO portrait the image of this cash and carry whole sale departmental store as the lower prices with the high quality and availability of everything at a same place. You just visit it and you can get every thing what you can think to buy. Based on the above , very simple, observations, the metro cash carry strategy would fall somewhere between the differentiation strategy and the focussed strategy. In terms of Bowmans Strategy Clock the picture is clearer. Metro fall clearly into the Differentiation strategy. Premium Priced or not? The question of price premium is open to further discussion. Although this next section should really be covered in the analysis of Metro cash carry under Porters five forces model. Quantix will open the proposition with a low price and low added value service. If the customer buys into this it is a relatively simple matter to upsell the customer to more expensive, but more added value, services. 1 Low price/low added value Likely to be segment specific 2 Low price Risk of price war and low margins/need to be cost leader 3 Hybrid Low cost base and reinvestment in low price and differentiation 4 Differentiation (a) Without price premium. Perceived added value by user, yielding market share benefits (b) With price premium. Perceived added value sufficient to bear price premium 5 Focused differentiation Perceived added value to a particular segment, warranting price premium 6 Increased price/standard Higher margins if competitors do not value follow/risk of lo losing market share 7 Increased price/low value Only feasible in monopoly situation 8 Low value/standard price Loss of market share Internal Review SWOT Strength Weakness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company has over 207 stores around the euorope and of those 145 stores are located in the UK. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark has very organised business structure. which provides good quality services to their customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It offers a range of job opportunities and employees more than 30,000 people. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It provides a high street quality clothes at reasonable prices to customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark is part of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) which focuses on workers rights, their production of goods and bringing businesses together to work on labour rights issues. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark provides clothing for childrens, men and womens of all ages, it also provide some home accessories. A research company TNS who rank Primark as UKs second largest clothing retailer by terms of market share. Primark has very affordable and competitive prices. Mainstream market product quality. Stores in High Street locations. It has clear focus on the target market. A strong consumer proposition has been developed for the Primark brand and embodied in the line Look Good, Pay Less. It has 28 days refund policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark facing child labour in india and bangladesh for producing their embroidred clothes, although it is member of ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative). Due to these negative reports they stop working with three big organizations in India. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It has poor working conditions and not properly giving their workers their full rights. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark has problem with advertisement because the company does not advertise their products and this gives their competitors the advantage over them. Employees overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark purports less value on ethical matters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exploitation of the employees and abuse on labour force. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poor working conditions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The primacy of autocratic and rigidity on standard structures. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Child labour. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The primacy of autocratic and rigidity on standard structures. Opportunity Threats à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark expanding their business to opening more new stores in the UK and in euorope. And has now opened 17 stores in Spain to battle along its competition like Zara. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark now has an opportunity to share their high quality products and services overseas. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It provides a high quality clothes to fashion conscious people in UK and Euorope. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark is a parent company for ABF. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primarks energy consumption in Great Britain is sourced against the green power generated and sold into the grid by sister company, British Sugar. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark shares many of its suppliers with its competitors on the high street. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primarks are in great competition with other companies such as Zara and HM which is their big threat. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The other threat is that will it match the needs of the customer in terms of fashion and uniqueness? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ As the Primark do not advertise for their products while their competitors do. This can be a threat for Primark for not advertising. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Financial crisis- credit crunch. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cheap quality product. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The primacy of autocratic and rigidity on standard structures. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increasing competitive pressure: matalan, peacock, H M. Marketing Strategy It is a great place to go for stylish, trendy clothes without the expensive price tag. Whether its on the go or for something which can make up to look like a high street find. Who are existing/potential Customers? People from all ages and sex belongs to all classes such as lower middle to high class is Primark potential customers. They buy product on regular bases. What are their current/ future needs? People want to buy fashionable and trendy clothes. How can we satisfy these needs? Primark can satisfy their customers by providing them good quality clothes on affordable prices. Why Should Customers buy from Us? Customers buy cloths from Primark due to their high quality fabrics, fashionable designs and due to affordable prices. Also clothes are available for all ages and sex. External Review PEST Political Factor Primarks business operations are the aid of government policies and regulation for example providing proper working environment for their workers. Primark is part of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) to deal with workers and to improve their working conditions. Primarks energy utilization in UK is sourced against the green power generated and sold into the grid by British Sugar. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark is a British clothing retail that promotes an ethical approach to people in factories ad farms worldwide to improve living standards in countries with vulnerable conditions such an India and Bangladesh. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark constantly implement training and work programmes to ensure that its follow the strict code of conduct of the company. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark Better Lives Foundation provide financial help to young people in developing countries. Economical Factors Primark more focus on young Consumers especially the under 35 of age. Every year Primark is expanding their business by opening new stores in UK and moved its business around Europe. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark offers to customers quality of merchandise at a affordable value for money. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark has a high percentage of customers loyalty. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The retail contribute to the economy in developing countries, this provide employment. Social Factors It is a great owner for Primark by receiving several awards for being value retailer of the UK. It now operates from 5.4 million sq ft of selling space, which gives it the advantage of providing more goods and services and also can display more items which consumers can see to buy their favorite product. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Primark adapts to the cultural issues in developing countries such as local attitudes, government and legal requirements. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The clothing retail base its strategies on trust and transparency to the benefit of the people. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In collaboration with the community, Primark has specific recruitment programmes to reach a wider group of people such as Job Centers, Universities, local communities, also, flexible hours this brings an effective and friendly workplace. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In addition, Primark has a home working policy for those whose prefer to be at home. Technological Factors In Primarks bid for world class, cutting edge management of its ethical auditing Programme, it has signed a deal with BSI Management Systems for the provision of Entropy Software. Primark did investment in Entropy Software which is a key part of Primarks ethical trade strategy, allowing all supplier audits, non-conformances and remedial actions to be managed through the Entropy Software platform, with much greater global visibility and management control. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In general retailers as Primark take risk in developing new technologies by importing and exporting technologies from abroad, as focus on quality, cost and functionality, investing huge amounts of capital in manufacturing processes and aiming at high volume production. This process open new opportunities in developing countries and retailers can use it effectively. Porters five forces model Porters five forces developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. Give a framework for environmental audit but tends to focus on the single, stand alone, business or SBU (Strategic Business Unit) rather than a single product or range of products The threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants is LOW for Primark because of the high cost setup. Power of the Supplier Primark does not rely on one big supplier rather they have number of smaller ones. And so here the bargaining power of suppliers is LOW with Primark. Bargaining Power of the Buyer Competitive rivalry Competitive rivalry is HIGH in case of Primark as there are number of similar size players in the market with offering similar product and due to high cost on exit (Exit barrier). Threat of the Substitutes Threat of substitutes is HIGH because other company are offering similar products with low price and now it is very easy for customer to switch from one product to other as they have become more choosey. Bargaining power of Buyers: Degree of Buyers power is HIGH, as there are multi players in the market and now customer are more sensitive towards the price so they visit every shop and then make decision and the switching cost is also not too high. The bargaining power of buyers in this case is very high because of the multi players in the market. There are attractive substitutes available to the buyer even in the form of keeping the same cell phone number but changing the service provider. It makes very difficult for the market players to retain their customers. I think the brand loyalty can only be created through superior marketing campaigns and service. Bargaining power of suppliers: This is a type of industry where, at least in present times, the bargaining power of suppliers is at the low level because of the nature of inputs for the business. Moreover, with the deregulated and friendly environment given by the government of Pakistan, the industry has become more competitive and quality services driven. Threat of substitute products: Although the cell phone subscribers are more than 95 million now, still the threat of substitute products is high for the industry. Buyer inclination to substitute and price-performance trade off are the most important to consider in determining the threat of substitutes. Actually, just the subscription of cell phone service is not enough for a company to get optimal profits but the real challenges is that how many existing customers are using the service regularly for incoming as well as outgoing calls. The quality of service is the parameter. Threat of New Entrants: Threats of new company like Zong is also there. Which offers very attractive packages to customers. There can be some more companies in future who can enter in this industry. Product Life Cycle Where do Primark fit in terms of the Boston matrix? Ansoff Matrix (Product/Market Matrix) Source: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm Same Product Same market (Market Penetration) This is the least risky of all the routes. It fits well with the results of the customer profile analysis which shows that the WellData customer base contains significant numbers of large companies who are also national or Global in their nature. By focussing on the existing customers and cross selling or up selling, WellData have the opportunity to tap into a market segment that already likes what they do and where the strength of internal customer references should work favourably on their behalf. Same Product New Market (Market Development) This is a more risky approach as it involves WellData being able to clearly identify a new market segment in which to operate. Given the difficulty in identifying a clear segment in which they already operate, the danger is that the chosen segment is hard to define, hard to identify and hard to quantify. In addition WellData have no Brand name outside their existing area of operation and in this aspect would face the same barriers to entry outlined in Porters analysis above. New Product Same Market (Product Development) For WellData this lies between Market Penetration and Market Development in terms of Risk. They are already established in their own market place and have a good reputation amongst their existing customers. An area of relatively simple product development is the move to desktop support. This is a function that WellData already carry out for some existing customer and which lies within their functional capabilities. They can simply offer the extended service to existing customers as an upgrade to the current services. New product New Market (Diversification) This is a high risk approach and is not one that would be simple to bring about in Metro. The move away from current skill sets and current markets would place a burden on Metro that they are unlikely to want or be able to afford. Recommendations From the four directions above the Market Penetration and Product Development offer the lowest risk. The markets for the services (Database Admin and Configuration, and Desktop Support) are sufficiently large to allow for customer acquisition without enormous marketing expenditure. Marketing Management Process Analysis/Audit where are we now? Currently WellData is a problem child. They have a small market share in a growth market. In order to grow they need to attack their existing account base and cross-sell and up-sell. Their sales revenue is just above a million and the ambition is to be a dominant player in the IT Support market place. To achieve this they have to focus their activities in areas where their strengths (technical expertise and a low cost base) can be brought to bear. Product Strategy Market penetration and Product development are the two key directions for WellData. The ease of access to the market and the related nature of the services opens up new areas to WellData without the risk of massive investment in either people, marketing expense or new technology. Generic Strategy WellData are transitioning from a focussed/differentiation strategy to one of cost leadership/ differentiation without a price premium. In Bowmans terms this would be a hybrid strategy. Such a strategy is designed to attract market share. Pricing Strategy Pricing strategies need to be rethought in order to counter the tactical threat from Quantix. WellDatas all you can eat buffet approach has been effectively countered with the Menu of the Day approach from Quantix. The 4 Ps MARKETING PRICE PRODUCT PLACE PROMOTION Product Style for men With a range of brands from Cedarwood State to DenimCo, Primark has the fashion for all occasions. With everything from formal suiting and footwear to a more casual look in denim and T-Shirts. We have everything to put your look together and its all available in your nearest Primark store. Clothing Our Butler Webb range will cater for all of your formal needs, with cotton shirts, silk ties and a premium suiting range. Within our Backswing section we offer a full range of sportswear styles, from golfwear to ski-wear. Accessories Every fashion-conscious man needs to top off his outfit with the perfect hat, scarf, wallet or bag. Find everything you need for accessorising your look in our mens accessories range. Footwear From formal shoes for that special occasion to our canvas shoes for a more casual look, the Primark mens footwear range will take you from formal sophistication to street-savvy in no time. Womenwear Primark prides itself on providing its customers with up-to-the-minute fashion at affordable prices. Our aim is to ensure you get the right look within our stores, so if youre looking for the latest fashion in clothing, accessories, footwear or lingerie, look no further than your nearest Primark store Clothing With everything from the latest styles to the essential items that keep you looking chic, Primark has it all. Skirts, trousers, cardigans, dresses, jackets and much more. Lingerie Fun, flirty or functional its all at Primark. And of course its affordable lingerie with the quality that you hope for. Accessories Complete your look with the latest trends in accessories from bags to bracelets and everything in between. Footwear Diamonds may be a girls best friend but shoes come a close second. At Primark we have an entire range to fulfil your inner fashionista and put the finishing touches to your outfit. Everybody knows kids grow fast, so keep them in fashion at affordable prices at Primark. Your nearest Primark store has everything you need, whether you are a bouncing baby or a fashion-conscious teenager. Girlswear Every girl wants to look her best and at Primark we make no exception for the younger ladies. Boyswear When you think of boys, you think young and fun. At Primark we think the same and we ensure that all of our boys clothing is not only young and fun but also practical and affordable. Babywear Dress your bundle of joy, whether a boy or girl, in great baby basics to fashionable outfits. Everything your heart desires and your baby needs can be found in your nearest Primark store. home At Primark we know that Home is where the heart is, so if youre re-decorating or just want to add something a little special from fragranced candles to velvet throws, check out our homeware products to bring that little bit extra to your home. Youll find sumptuous bed linen that can keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, including complete bed sets, duvet covers, two-pack hollow-fibre pillows and 100% cotton percale sheets. We have a range of duvets available in single, double or king sizes. For the bathroom you can buy cotton towels in 11 colours and two-pack reversible bath mats. To enhance the pampering you deserve, we also have candles, all delicately fragranced in seasonal scents and colours. And you can give your living room that feeling of class with products from our range of cushions and throws including cottons, chenilles and velvets. www.primark.co.uk Place Ireland 38 Spain 18 UK 145 The Netherlands 1 Portugal 2 Germany 2 Belgium 1 Total 207 Price Price Tops-  £3-7 Bottoms-  £5-6 Denim-  £12 Bags-  £5 Purses- £3 Belts-  £2 Jewellery- £1.50-2.00 Promotion Social Networking Much has been made of the emergence of social networking as a modern phenomenon especially amongst the young. However it is increasingly the case that modern legislation is preventing suppliers from communicating with potential customers unless the customer has already agreed (Telephone Preference Service, Corporate Telephone Preference Service, Mail Preference Service, Data Protection Act etc). This clear Catch-22 is forcing suppliers down two, increasingly expensive and unproductive routes. Google Adwords Media advertising Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Myspace etc) offers a new route to potential customers that is currently still open to businesses. Although these routes are not free, they are still novel enough to attract attention and be considered as a user friendly/personal route to market. However these routes are not without challenges of their own. The time and human resource required creating and, even more importantly, maintaining these pages on a daily or hourly basis is a considerable investment in its own right. E.G. A Facebook page is free. Facebook adverts operate on a pay per click basis (similar to Google). Although these adverts can be targeted to specific job titles the actual number of people who will be targeted is still small as many Facebook users do not include their job title in their profile. A combined approach of Twitter and Facebook seems to work well and have little external cost. IE Twitter an update (Windows 7 etc) and link it to Facebook. This gives two opportunities to get your name out to interested parties without massive expense. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS Primark can easily expand and diversify, giving its rivals a competitive environment with substantial financial power.<

Philip Roth- Master of the Double Identity :: essays research papers fc

Philip Roth - Master of the â€Å"Double Identity† because he suffers from one What influences one's identity? Is it their homes, their parents, their religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with it? Everyone has one and each identity is unique, or is it? In literature, (or life) religion plays a large role in a character's identity. However, sometimes the writer's own religion and personal experiences shapes the character's identity more than his/her imagination does. A person's religion can play a big role in one's identity. Throughout his works, Philip Roth explores the theme of identity doubles. Roth's portrayal of identity formation in his characters is directly inspired by his own identity; his life. One of the most obvious examples of Roth's art imitating life is in two of his books naming the main characters after none other than himself. It was among some of the many startling gestures in his career; in Deception (1990) he referred to the main character as Philip and in Operation Shylock (1993) he made reference to the main character as Philip Roth. In her article titled, â€Å"Philip Roth's Fictions of Self Exposure†, Debra Shostak remarks how odd it is for an author to outwardly make reference to themselves when most authors want avoid any personal association with their work other than writing it, she further points out that Roth intentionally writes this way, making his career out of his reader's inclinations toward â€Å"biographical interpretations†: Few writers dare to name themselves at the center of their inventions, which is why it is so arresting to find a work of fiction that pronounces its author's name within the text. Because readers are frequently tempted, from either prurient interest or more impartial motives, to discern autobiography in a fictional narrative, most writers of fiction seem to labor out of modesty , a sense of privacy, or a display of imaginative capacities to erase the traces of their own lives from their work. Not so Philip Roth. Especially since his invention of Nathan Zuckerman, Roth has encouraged readers to interpret the narrative voice of his fiction as a self-revealing "I," a Roth surrogate who, by the time of Deception and Operation Shylock, is no longer a surrogate but is "Roth" himself†¦ What I argue here is not that Roth is, strictly, writing autobiographically, but rather that he makes capital out of his readers' inclinations toward biographical interpretations of his work.

Things Falling Apart Essay

Insist dead, when they 2 first arrived, the white men seemed harmless and weak to the Bib people. † ‘T hey want a piece of land to build their shrine,' said Quenched to his peers when they cons eluted among themselves. ‘We shall give them a piece of land, let us give them a portion of t he Evil Forest. ‘ † (149) The chief priests and elders suggested this plot of land because it was believed that someone who went and lived in the Evil Forest would die within four days. Who en the missionaries were still alive after the fourth day, everyone was astonished an d confused.It caused some people to think that if this belief wasn't true, perhaps other thin gas in their culture might not be true. As time went on, the missionaries who had come to Jump via harmless and powerless began to gain more converts and more control. The missionaries s coffee at traditions and beliefs that the Bib people had practiced for years. In Bib religion n it was believed that twins were evil, so they put them in pots and threw them into the Evil For est.. The seminaries were horrified by this idea. â€Å"It was true that the missionaries were e rescuing twins from the bush†¦As far as the villagers were concerned, the twins still remain d where they had been thrown away' (154) At first the missionaries' strange beliefs and cacti ions didn't really bother the villagers, but as timed went on they became a more concerned. â€Å"T he white men had not only brought a religion but also a government. It was said that they h ad built a place Of judgment to protect the followers Of their religion. It was even said that the eye had hanged one man who had killed a missionary. (155) Hearing these stories made the boo people worried, but they did not act to stop the Europeans.When his people did not attempt to put an end to the white man's power, Awoken became frustrated; he wanted to fig HTH back. â€Å"l cannot understand these things. What has happened to our peo ple? Why have e they lost the power to fight? † (175) Before, Bib tribes had constantly been fighting trying to secure their power, but now they let the Europeans take over without even putting up a if get. 3 If the foreigners had come to Nigeria with an army and tried to force the anti e people to adopt their religion and culture, the Bib people would have felt threatened and would have united to defend themselves.

Globalization: Toms a Commodity Fetish Essay

Globalization is the international influence, change, and interaction within or between countries and or nations. This creates an idea of connectedness between the facilitating nation and the nation being influenced. Within this interaction and influence on another nation there becomes this desire to become a â€Å"trendsetter† through the use of products and other various commodities throughout the world. One such example can be seen through the United States which is associated with so many different types of brands such as Coca-Cola or Nike. These influences and trends though cannot be simply placed anywhere, rather they are developed and strategically thought of where they would be best placed and as well alternated to fit within a new environment for optimum consumption. These changes can either hinder a product or can help it through the way in which it is advertised and accepted into the local market. Such an example can be seen through TOMS shoe company where their goal is â€Å"to show how together, we can create a better tomorrow by taking compassionate action today† (Toms.com). TOMS’ business model of buy a pair give a pair is marketed to the U.S. in a way that plays with people’s emotions so that their product becomes a fetish through the idea that once a pair of shoes is bought people are doing good for another person; in particular children in other countries without shoes. This correlates with both Marx’s commodity fetish theory, the cultural imperialism theory and Mazzarella’s idea of the impact of imagery through the direct way TOMS is directed to the consumer and as well how there is an indirect influence from the TOMS shoe company onto the other various countries that they take their shoes to through the positive imagery that is created through the global impact that the company is trying to make. TOMS was started by founder Blake Mycoskie in 2006 after he had gone to Argentina in 2002 and saw the extreme poverty and health conditions and in particular children without shoes (toms.com). The original product came from an Argentine shoe called an alpargata which was worn by the local farmers in the region; it’s a canvas or fabric material with rubber soles. Mycoskie took the alpargata to the U.S. but changed and reinvented it for the American market so that there could be a product that made a positive impact, which ultimately translates to the â€Å"One for One† campaign, where with every one pair of shoes bought another pair would be given to a child in need (toms.com). The reason for the production and business of shoes is due to two reasons first many children in impoverished places live in areas that have unsafe terrains, such as a lack of unpaved roads. Second, there are also health concerns that are transmitted from the soil which is caused by not wearing sh oes. Lastly TOMS did some research and found that many schools require children to wear shoes to the classroom and without shoes or even the right color of shoes that child would not be able to go into the classroom (Daniel:2011:2). With this Mycoskie was able to start a business that now has manufacturing sites in China, Argentina, and Ethiopia (Daniel:2011:4). These production factories are divided up into two â€Å"departments† where the Argentinean and Ethiopian factories are where the donated shoes are produced only and the China factory is where the shoes that go to the United States are produced (toms.com). Because TOMS is a private company meaning that they are â€Å"a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company shares to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the company’s stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately† (businessnow.com). This then allows TOMS to be more private and less in the open about what is going on in their factories and other various production stages. However, TOMS is open about their manufacturing practices and according to the TOMS website they ensure that no children are working in the manufacturing process of their shoes. As well they want to help their supply employees through training them and educating them in the knowledge of what human trafficking is and as well slavery prevention. They â€Å"follow local labor standards†; which fluctuate from place to place which gives a very vague reality of what their â€Å"real† standards are. TOMS’ website does say that all factories are audited by third parties, each employer signs a code of conduct in which they are agreeing to follow the stipulations to TOMS company, there are regular visits made by TOMS production staff to make sure they are working and adhering to the code of conduct and other various working standards, and that all their standards are based off of the International Labor Organization Compliance Standards (toms.com). The intent of such standards, then, is to establish a worldwide minimum level of protection from inhumane labor practices through the adoption and implementation of said measures. â€Å"It is the aim of international labor standards to ensure the provision of such rights in the workplace, such as against workplace aggression, bullying, discrimination and gender inequality on the other hands for working diversity, workplace democracy and empowerment†(ilo.org). The basic stages of the production of the shoes goes from a team that draws up the ideas of the shoes, to a mock make-up of the shoe, then the design goes to the factories where they are made and then shipped to the U.S. where they are distributed to the various relaters and non-profit organizations that they partner with for â€Å"shoe drops.† Overall though, there is little information of the production stages and how the production facilities are like; which causes concern seeing as how they have built their ima ge on doing good for others and want to have a positive impact on the local economies. It becomes important to acknowledge that TOMS is a â€Å"for-profit company with giving at its core† (toms.com). TOMS partners up with other various non-profit organizations that run parallel goals and standards as TOMS does. This then means that each non-profit organization that TOMS partners with needs to meet certain criteria. There are six requirements that the organizations need to fulfill to be able to partner up with TOMS. First they need to have repeated giving which is where the potential organization must have the capability to be active within the same communities on a regular basis throughout the years. Second they need to have high impact which means that the organization’s mission and goals need to support health and education in a fashion that underlies the principle of giving a child an opportunity they normally would not have. Third enhancing impact through partnership, TOMS strives to make an influential impact in communities where they donate and the partnering organization needs to have their mission and goals coincide with TOMS’. Fourth, they need to be considerate of the local economy so that there is not a negative impact on the economy only a positive one. Fifth they need to be able to receive large shipments of TOMS’ shoes so that they may distribute the shoes to the places they focus on. Lastly, the potential partnering establishment needs to be comprehensively founded on health and education, so that the distribution of the new shoes not only supports TOMS’ mission but runs parallel with the establishments’ goals (toms.com). These non-profit organizations are not only an important aspect to the overall business of TOMS through the ability to give out the donated shoes but as well to spread the word about TOMS to the various communities that they reach. Non-profit organizations play a key role throughout the TOMS company process. Without these partnering organizations there would not be as frequent â€Å"shoe drops.† These â€Å"shoe drops† are where the donated shoes are given to the children in the targeted area. Each organization plays a key role through going to different places that they see fit and in need of shoes. Even after the shoes have been delivered, TOMS continues to maintain relationships with its giving partners and the communities (toms.com). TOMS constantly monitors its partners for accountability. Additionally the organization recognizes that one pair of shoes is not going to last for the child’s entire lifetime. â€Å"Therefore, as the children grow out of their shoes—approximately every six months—TOMS provides replacement shoes to these same children on a regular basis† (Daniel:2011:5). A schedule is set up with the identified community and local giving partner to maintain a regular Shoe Drop for the children. TOMS’ believes that repeat giving allows it to understand the local’s needs more thoroughly. TOMS also works to adapt its products to account for the region’s terrain, weather, and education requirements (toms.com). However, despite the use of these non-profit organization partnerships there is still a need to spread the word about what the TOMS company is all about and what they are trying to do. The TOMS company does not use conventional advertising in the sense that they use television or newspaper ads rather they use social media to spread what they are doing through the various outlets such as viral videos, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, and Youtube. Its approach has allowed TOMS to reach a vast audience worldwide. TOMS maintains its own blog to educate the public about current events in the company. Additionally, many consumers create their own digital content regarding their experiences with TOMS Shoes. By encouraging events and word-of-mouth communication, TOMS is allowing consumers to do much of the marketing for the company. There is a very strong need for participation from the consumers to spread the word and the idea behind TOMS; so much so that they invite the consumer to be part of the â€Å"movement† (toms.com). The movement for TOMS is a wide range of various activities that the consumers can participate in; from on campus programs, one day without shoes, and most importantly buying their shoes so that another pair can go to a child in need, in other words â€Å"One for One.† The images that are presented in these pictures and information videos there becomes a very powerful image behind them. This coincides with Mazzarella’s argument that the image is a powerful image and how that powerful image then is a created for a local identity on a particular product for each specific place. With TOMS there is a sense of creating a local identity through who the audience is but there is more of an idea that anyone can join in what they are about and doing no matter the age or stage of live one is in. Because, the TOMS Company is asking participation from the consumer they in essence are also asking them to create a meaning behind their purchase and consumption of their shoe product; this in turn causes the shoes to become fetishized. The shoes take on a new meaning for the consumer other than just another pair of shoes. They become a symbol of hope, a chance for a child, a generous gift, and an opportunity for change for the consumer (cite). According to Marx’s theory of the commodity fetish when an object is treated as alive it becomes a fetish. As well Marx argues that capitalism produces its own fetishes through turning basic human needs such as food, warmth, shelter, and shoes into wants; they try to seduce the consumer. The consumer does not think then of the use value the product just becomes something that they want and more often than not the wants are very shallow (Marx). However, TOMS tries to put an anti-shallow want on their shoes through the use of playing with the consumers emotions. TOMS plays at the heart-strings of the consumer so that there becomes an emotional link between the consumer and the product; if the shoes are bought then a child is getting helped. As Marx points out there is an emotional quality in the product and this is often heightened through the way in which it is advertised. Even though TOMS does not use the conventional ways of advertising they do however, put a positive feeling into their information videos that add and heighten this emotional affect. TOMS shoe company falls into this idea of a commodity fetish because TOMS is asking the consumer to fill in the space between the product and the means of it; to fill in the gap according to Marx. TOMS makes its product seem so enticing for the consumer to do good that often times it is forgotten that the company is a for-profit company and it almost gets seen as a non-profit company because of the way in which the company brings forth what it is trying to do. This in turn changes the meaning of the shoe from just a shoe into what the consumers want it to mean. The meaning of the product is not just individually made but socially created and functioning but the use value remains the same; the meaning of the commodity is never locked down rather it is always change and fluxing with the social aspect and get filled with personal lives and not just the companies meaning (Marx). However, even though there is a positive spin on consuming TOMS shoes it’s important to look at how TOMS only releases certain information on what they are doing and their product; they present everything that they do in a way that they are always doing good and nothing bad. This in turn ties in with Cultural Imperialism. Cultural Imperialism is the indirect influence of one culture onto another. It can be argued that while TOMS is having an impact and therefore influence on the cultures that they donate the shoes and have factories in they are in essence having a more influence on the American economic culture through the way in which they have â€Å"revolutionized† the way in which to build a business model (Mendez:2011:7). They did this through the way in which the company was created under the premise that sales equal the good done. Mycoskie said, â€Å"†¦we know every day that we’re going to give away one pair of shoes for every one we sell, and that’s that. If we can’t make the business work that way, then the business just doesn’t work.† Many small businesses have now started to model their practices after this one-for-one model however they have not been as successful as TOMS especially if these companies are truly non-profit organizations (thewor ld.com). According to a Wall Street Journal â€Å"Toms is going a step further than most in blurring the difference between brand and charity; the brand doesn’t exist outside the charitable work.† Which helps explains why they have been so successful in selling their product because they are blurring those lines between the product brand and the charity aspect which often times is not the case when a major company wants to do charity work. Because of this blurring of the lines between corporate and charity this causes an influence in the United States corporate culture. Even though it may not be global in the sense that it’s an American company influencing the American corporation world it still is a type of cultural imperialism. However according to Mazzarella cultural imperialism is the tool that is used to create chaos in which only the ad companies only have the solution to. Again with the way in which TOMS places their imagery through social media sources there almost becomes an indirect way that they are trying to portray the good they are doing in the forefront while whatever other impacts they may be occurring to the wayside so that it appears there is no influe nce created by TOMS and its industry both throughout the world and the United States local economy. Overall, TOMS shoe company is one that wants to bring good to those in need. However, there are several questions that arise such as if they are doing what they say they are why are their production facilities and practices so hidden? Or why don’t they allow people to see just how much the difference in facilities in the United States and their factories in Argentina, Ethiopia and China? Lastly are they truly only having positive impacts to the local economies in which they donate their shoes or are they also having a negative one as well? The company is very open on the good they are doing and create a very powerful image that directly relates to the fetishism of their shoes with the consumer and their desire themselves to have a positive impact through their consumption of a product rather than guilt. As Mazzarella states the â€Å"global is constructed locally just as much as the local is constructed globally† (2003:17). This can be seen through how with the local imagery that is created in the United States that is seen as a positive image of TOMS is directed to the rest of the world even though while it may appear very true there are still many things about the overall corporation the TOMS company keeps hidden from the consumers eyes. This then is also how their cultural imperialistic impact is played through how the positive image is translated from the local to the global. Overall, TOMS offers a solution to short-term symptoms of poverty but does not address the root cause of poverty (Costello:2012:12). In conclusion it might be better to buy a pair of shoes for half the price and then write a check for a foundation that support the local economies infrastructure that TOMS is impacting so there can be more of a long-term impact rather than a short-term. However, there is a desire to create a positive impact and while there can never be a perfect model to create a business that is always creating a positive impact the TOMS company just might be on to something. Works Cited Bartter, Jacqueline. â€Å"A New Model of Corporate Social Responsibility.† Iprs.uscs.edu. University of California, San Diego, 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. http://irps.ucsd.edu/assets/001/503681.pdf Costello, Amy. â€Å"Buy One and Give One, Inside TOMS Shoes†. Tiny Spark. Chronicle of Philanthropy. March, 15, 2012. F., Daniel. â€Å"Toms: One For the Movement.† University of New Mexico, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/TOMS%20Case.pdf Marx, Karl, and David McLellan. Selected Writings. Oxford [Eng.: Oxford UP, 1977. Print. Mazzarella, William. Shoveling Smoke: Advertising and Globalization in Contemporary India. Durham: Duke UP, 2003. Print. â€Å"TOMS SHOES LOGO.† TOMS Shoes & Eyewear Official Store. N.p., n.d. 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