John Lewis Free Essays

Good day, everyone. Since you’ve just heard about the plus side, let us now talk about the weakness. Some may find the first few familiar but I’ll mention them again anyway. We will write a custom essay sample on John Lewis or any similar topic only for you Order Now * Firstly, in 2008, a scandal over expenses claimed by Members of Parliament revealed that John Lewis prices were being used as a guide to the maximum costs refundable to MPs when equipping London pieds a terre at a public expense. * Secondly, last year, pre-tax profits fell 3. 8%, to ? 354 million. * Thirdly, the very wet summer in 2012 has affected profits of businesses including retail and the hospitality industry. Besides that, there are a number more that we’ve manage to look up such as how * John Lewis performance slipped over the 2010 Christmas period. While all retailers practically underperformed during this time, John Lewis was the most exposed. At the time of writing, the share price was 361p with the 52-week low of 367p and high of 759p, which means that John Lewis Mamp;S had lost more than 50% of its value during the year (Sunday Times, 2011). * Similarly, the price/earnings ratio of 9. is very low as compared to that of its competitor’s i. e. Mark and Spenser. The price/earnings ratio is the key indicator of investor assurance in a company (Arnold, 2002). * Next, John Lewis has recently started cutting prices to match up the ever increasing competition. This may devalue the brand (The Economist, 2012). * Lastly, The company has been recently criticized for fuelling accusations of poor managerial incompetence, corporate governance and lack of transparency infuriating many large investors (Nugent and Hawkes, 2012). * Thank you. How to cite John Lewis, Papers John Lewis Free Essays {draw:frame} Introduction A chain of Retail stored, based in Great Britain, first opened its store in 1864 in Oxford Street, London. â€Å"Never Unknowingly Unsold† an altogether different concept in the market and offering to the customers holds a promise that the price of the products sold in John Lewis Stores will be the lowest in the neighborhood which even helped John Lewis to establish strongly in the British Market basically more amongst the middle class people. It has also been the motto and the slogan for the company for 76 years, since its establishment. We will write a custom essay sample on John Lewis or any similar topic only for you Order Now A partner of John Lewis Partnership which even includes other stores like Waitrose, Greenbee. Every Employee who works at John Lewis is a partner in the company and is entitled to receive bonus out of the profits company earns yearly. With Currently 29 stores Countrywide(28 John Lewis Retail stores and 1 John Lewis at home store) 8 more stores are yet to come in next 5 years in the UK, one of them at the Olympic Site in Stratford, London. Several stores are also in the category of listed buildings because of the architectural designing, one of them being the flagship store at Oxford street, London John Lewis Opened its largest store outside London in Wales on 24th September’2009 in Cardiff. With the efforts and the determination of the partners serving the customers with High Quality Goods and the best shopping experience, John Lewis has been able to reach the status of the Largest Retailer in the country. Stores in Reading and Berkshire were also awarded with Royal Warrant by Queen on 1st January’2007 for being a supplier of household and fancy products. John Lewis opened its first store as a small drapery shop at Oxford Street in 1864. John Lewis buys the control of Peter Jones in 1905 It was year 1918 when the first edition of Gazette was published, magazine by John Spedan Lewis. In 1920 John Spedan Lewis, Son of John Lewis incorporates John Lewis Partnership, which today has several companies including John Lewis, Waitrose( a chain of supermarkets offering food products) and Greenbee( offers Direct Services like Insurance etc) In 1933 John Lewis buys Jessops, well established store in Nottingham. First store outside London. In 1940 John Lewis also took over Selfridges Provincial stores. With the era of internet and connecting with world via internet, John Lewis launches its website in year 2001 allowing customers to shop online and getting products delivered at their door. Jessops rebrands itself as John Lewis in year 2002 Store in Caley shut its door for public in July 2006 John Lewis enters home Products too, opens up John Lewis at home shop in Poole, Dorset in year 2009,providng customers with wide range of products like Pillows, Duvets, Quilts. Attains the status of Largest Department Store Retailer in Goals and Objectives Goals and Objectives are important business terms, the two aspects which help a company to become what it wants to. Usually Goals and objectives are inter changed against each other, but practically they have really wide difference. Goal refers to what you aim to become, whereas objectives are the ways or steps to achieve those goals. John Lewis takes the competition to a new level to be UK’s favorite retailer, from its Never knowingly undersold tagline to providing best customer service to conducting their business relations with integrity helps them to be UK’s favorite retail house . Make sufficient profits from the operations to sustain commercial vitality. John Lewis does business with utmost care and low cost but never leaves quality, it has and will always maintain quality of its products, but the products are available at low and reasonable costs that the profits are high plus within the reach of middle class people, thus making it more famous and established amongst middle class of UK. Employee Satisfaction Every employee who works in John Lewis is a partner in the business. The profit is shared amongst the partners named as bonus, which motivates the employees to work harder being more focused and determined. An Individual’s brilliance, determination and zeal to work which showers fruitful results are rewarded separately. Customer Satisfaction John Lewis recruits only those people who know how to work with integrity, determination while abiding by the principles laid down, which helps John Lewis to provide customers with a different and homely shopping experience in their stores. The prices, quality and value of the goods is different from the other stores in the surroundings which helps in attracting more and more customers to their stores thus building a strong customer base and bond and even a brand image and goodwill for itself Strategic Planning Strategic planning is an integral process of an organization defining its strategies and direction and making decisions to allocate available resources to peruse laid strategies, which provides the organizations which a competitive edge over their competitors. Strategies formulated by John Lewis top level management are basically targeting at 3 core goals, they being:- Personal Satisfaction of the Employees Strong customer base, brand value and goodwill. Sufficient Profits yearly. Strategic planning included SWOT analysis, analysis done to analyze internal environment of the organization and to bring it at par with the external environment. SWOT stands for Strength It also includes PEST analysis which is done to examine the external factors affecting the business and how change in them will affect the business, which helps the organizations to be better prepared for those circumstances, PEST stands for Political SWOT ANALYSIS OF JOHN LEWIS Strengths John Lewis has a strong customer base, a brand image and goodwill which helped in becoming the UK’s favorite retailer leaving behind its competitors like Debenhams, Marks and Spencer’s etc, which itself is strength of John Lewis. Each and every employee who works in John Lewis is a partner, be it a part time employee or a full time which entitles them to have share in profit. Bonus is given to the employees at the end of FY out of the profit it earns, which motivates them to work hard and achieve targets set for them which helps the organization inturn. It seems that John Lewis has placed itself well on the environmental and green issues too. For eg:-The fair trade policy it follows with the producers the products in Africa. This helps in making themselves a positive brand in the eyes of customers and environmental activists. Being a part of John Lewis Partnership it is under the scanner of extremely experienced management team of John Lewis Plc and of its own. Weakness Unlike the expansion policy TESCO follows, John Lewis serves only the UK market thus restricting itself to UK customers. If a problem arises in food retailing sector, it will be difficult for John Lewis to cope up. Lack of flexibility for the employees. Opportunities Increasing online sales can be an opportunity because the company will get good returns as the website related cost is nothing as compared to online sales cost. The new store coming up at Olympic site in Stratford will cater to the Olympic fans, as John Lewis is the official sponsor to Olympic games and the official license holder to sale Olympic merchandize John Lewis will open its store in Dublin, which will help them to reach customers in Ireland thus expanding the business. Threats Customers might respond to new brand, John Lewis, in the country in a different manner from UK, even because of John lewis being a British brand. Various other small brands whose price cap matches with that of John Lewis can be a threat. Flexibility lacking in the working can be a threat to John Lewis, as the GREENBLOODED nature of the management at times can make employees frustrated. PEST ANALYSIS Political Factors Globalization, can prove to be a challenge plus an opportunity for John Lewis. Challenge as it will have to compete with Retail stores from round the globe who would even be providing the customers with better services and products better than John Lewis. Globalization can prove to be an opportunity as it will allow establishing themselves anywhere round the globe. Government taxation policy can reduce or increase the profit margin on products and services. -For example:- If the Corporation tax increases to let say 30% from 20% then John Lewis will have to pay more of taxes which will inturn decrease the profit Economic Factors, If the credit availment terms in the country are flexible, then availing credit will get easier from financial institutions which will help John Lewis to expand and grow even more. Along with economic conditions, bank policies play an important role in affecting the purchasing power of the consumers, better and flexible the bank policy and economic scenario healthy, purchasing power increases which in turn will increase sales of John Lewis, which will increase the profit percentage. With more and more competition in every segment from competitors like Debenhams, Marks and Spencer’s John Lewis management keeps on coming up with different types of marketing techniques , giving more and more of incentive to the customers; affecting prices , resulting in the less profit. Social Analysis. Things have changed a lot from the previous times, people don’t like standing in the queues, they prefer buying stuff online and getting the delivery at home. People even prefer billing themselves via self billing kiosks. Today to become more successful and profitable innovation and proper marketing has become the key. Consumers in the market have become aware about the Global climate problems; they are inclined towards companies who keep a check on carbon foot print are Green in there working in every aspect. Technological Analysis RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) technology can be used for significant benefits to the supply chain of Sainsbury’s. If adopted, this technology will lead to fewer inventories for the supermarket firms leading to a leaner, more profitable organization. Stores shall be technological advanced, usage of best quality Tills, ePOS systems ,ERP systems for managing the company in an effective and efficient manner. Conclusion How to cite John Lewis, Papers

Mussolini Essay Example For Students

Mussolini Essay Benito Mussolini was born July 29, 1883 near Predappio, Italy. He lived with his family in a small cottage attached to the school where his mother taught. His mother was named Rosa Maltoni. His father was a blacksmith named Alessandro Mussolini. He had a brother named Arnaldo, and a sister named Edvige. As a child, Benito was very strong willed, unruly, and violent. He was also mostly a loner.He actually preferred reading to playing with other children. His parents thought he would do better at a boarding school so, at age 9, he was sent to Salesian School. He hated it there and was as violent as ever. He threw an inkpot at a teacher and stabbed a child, just to name a couple of his violent outbursts. His parents then sent him to Royal Normal School, a secular school. He did much better there for it was less strict. He also made some progress in his academic skills there. In 1901, he graduated. He became interested in politics there so became an apprentice. In 1902, Mussolini qualified as a teacher. Later he left Italy for Switzerland to work odd jobs and become a political activist. In 1910, he got married to a lady named Rachele. That same year they had a child named Edda. In 1911, he got arrested for protesting the Libyan war. Also that year he became editor of the Avanti! newspaper. Three years later he started his own newspaper called: Il Popolo d Italia. Mussolini had another child named Vittorio and went off to fight in World War I. It is said he also had three other children, but their names and date of birth are unmentioned. In 1917, he was wounded in a training exercise so returned home. Mussolini was the founder and leader of Italian fascism, an authoritarian political movement developed in Italy and other European countries as a reaction to social changes brought by World War I and the spread of socialism and communism. Then King Victor Emmanuel III offered Mussolini a job as a figurehead monarch of Italy. Instead, Mussolini becomes prime minister after the March on Rome, an event staged by the blackshirts, which lead Mussolini to power. In 1925, Mussolini took leadership, as dictator, from the weak coalition government. He did this by earning trust by building new roads, houses, and factories. One of his many boasts was he made Italian trains run on time. In 1928, the Italian government was completely abolished. People had to obey Il Duce, Mussolinis nickname, meaning the leader, or be put in jail or, worse yet, be killed. Mussolini formed an alliance with Hitler in 1937. Two years later, World War II broke out, and Mussolini signed the Pact of Steel, a military alliance with Hitler. There were three dictators of World War II: Mussolini of Italy, Hitler of Germany, and Tojo of Japan. Mussolini mainly joined World War II because he was jealous of all the land Hitler and Germany were getting. However, Mussolinis old-fashioned army was not at all prepared, so it basically unsuccessful in attacking countries. In 1943, Mussolini was dismissed by King Victor Emmanuel III then arrested. After that, King Victor made peace with the Allies. September twelfth the Germans rescued him and made him head of a puppet government, or a government with no power.On April 28, 1945, Mussolini, the great Italian dictator, was captured by partisans, shot, and hung in a public square in Milan, Italy.Bibliography:

Election Process Essays - Voting Systems, , Term Papers

Election Process The presidential election process is a long and complicated procedure. Currently, we elect our president and vice-president by an indirect device known as the Electoral College. Under this system, each state has as many electors as it has representatives and senators. Candidates who win a plurality of the popular vote in a state secure all the states electoral votes. In order to win a presidential election, a candidate must appeal successfully to the big states, such as California and Texas. Many people are dissatisfied with are country's current election process. A candidate could win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote, and thus lose the presidency. This method has led to a lot of controversy and may eventually lead to election reforms. One proposal concerning the presidential election process is to have a single national primary four months before the final election. Currently, there is a very tight presidential primary schedule. This process generally favors the candidate with the most financial backing. In this years primary season, there is a massive amount of primaries held on March 7. Shortly following these primaries is an even bigger barrage of caucuses and primaries. This greatly favors the candidate with the most money, for he will be able to spread his ideas to many states in a short amount of time. A candidate with vast resources will not even have to campaign in every state because his state party establishments do the necessary things to make sure the voters hear their platform. The present alignment of state primaries is rather ineffective due to the tight schedule. Having a single national primary four months before the election seems like an appropriate alternative to the current system. This would give all of the candidates enough time to effectively campaign. Additionally, it would abolish the problem of states holding useless primaries. Primaries that occur after the nominee is determined are pointless. One national primary would eliminate this problem. However, a downfall of this proposal, is that a majority of the people would not be interested in the election, being that it is four months away. Many voters might end up voting for the candidate in their party due to the lack of interest in the long primary. A second reform to the election process is to have a general election in November with the winner being determined by the national popular vote. Under our current system, a candidate could win the state of California by only one vote, and would still be awarded all 54 electoral votes for that state. This method makes no sense at all and must be reformed. An additional downfall to this method, is that candidate's end up concentrating on states where there is no definite winner. States that are seen as definite wins for either side are ignored, while states that are up in the air are severely concentrated on. If the popular vote were to determine the president, then the candidates would spend a great deal of time campaigning in every state. They would try to gain votes in every state because the votes for each state would be a significant factor in the outcome of the election. A popular vote would force the candidates to address every regions issues. The final reform method is to have a general election in November with the winner in each congressional district receiving one electoral vote and the state-wide winner getting two more electoral votes for carrying the state. This method is very similar to the current Electoral College. Since many districts are mainly occupied by a respective party, it would cause the same problems as our current system. Once again, some districts would be heavily campaigned and others would be disregarded. This setup would force candidates to focus on each individual district, and would also make the candidates ignore the issues of the entire state. This process also doesn't solve our current problem; the popular vote does not determine the winner of the election. I think this format would only bring about more problems to our current system. Questions like who would win if each candidate tied for the number of districts won, would bring about much controversy. It is quite obvious

Truth Essays - Philosophical Methodology, Philosophical Movements

Truth Essays - Philosophical Methodology, Philosophical Movements Truth There are three ways in which one is able to find truth: through reason (A is A), by utilizing the senses (paper burns) or by faith (God is all loving). As the period of the Renaissance came to a close, the popular paradigm for philosophers shifted from faith to reason and finally settling on the senses. Thinkers began to challenge authorities, including great teachers such as Aristotle and Plato, and through skepticism the modern world began. The French philosopher, Ren Descartes who implemented reason to find truth, as well as the British empiricist David Hume with his usage of analytic-synthetic distinction, most effectively utilized the practices of skepticism in the modern world. Ren Descartes was the first philosopher to introduce the intellectual system known as radical doubt. According to Descartes, everything he had learned before could have possibly been tainted by society or the senses, therefore he began to tear down the edifice of knowledge and rebuild it from the foundations up (Palmer 157). It was not that everything necessarily had to be false, but physical laws could not offer absolute certainty. Therefore Descartes used reason alone as his tool towards gaining absolute truth; truth being something that one could not possibly doubt. In his conclusion, Descartes found that the only thing that holds absolutely true is his existence. His famous quote, Cogito ergo sum can be translated into I think, therefore I am. By this Descartes implied that when you doubt, someone is doubting, and you cannot doubt that you are. With this revelation, the French philosopher continued to define selfhood as his consciousness. For in Descartes terms, it was plausible to doubt that one has a body, but impossible to doubt the existence of ones mind; therefore self and mind must be identical (Palmer 162). Hume on the other hand, took a different approach to the idea of self. He believed that there in fact was no such thing as selfhood. Instead he asserts that it must be some one impression, that gives rise to every real idea. But selfis not any one impression, but that to which our several impressions and ideas are supposed to have a reference (597). By this he implies that in order to form concrete ideas, ones impressions of pain, pleasure, joy, etc. must be invariable throughout time. This, Hume states, we know without a doubt to be impossible. Passions succeed each other over time and give rise to new passions, therefore it cannot be from any of these impressionsthat the idea of self is derived, and consequently there is no such idea (597). Although like Descartes, Hume practiced the art of radical skepticism, he felt that if he could not utilize his senses to prove something it was meaningless. Hume continued development of Leibnizs analytical-synthetic distinction, or in Humes words a distinction between relations of ideas and matters of fact (Palmer 197). Analytical propositions are true by definition and are a priori, and therefore necessarily true. Synthetic propositions are not true by definition and posteriori, and consequently can be false. However while Hume used these propositions to define analysis, his main clarification was that while one has the two levels of knowledge, that which is sensible and that which is found through reason, there is no separation between the two.

Pfizer Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pfizer Inc - Essay Example he organizational structure is anticipated to change to accommodate the changing dimensions of customer perceptions and value expectations from medicines and healthy living (Barrett 2005, 72-82). The case commences with the market segmentation practices and its role in guiding the sales force efforts at Pfizer. Next are the targeting and positioning strategies in place and an understanding whether they need any changes. Adding on to the analysis, whether the company needs a complete revamping of its structure is also discussed along with the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the change. To its accolades, Pfizer boasts of a 38,000 person global sales force that is competent enough to turn the demand function upside down. However, the traditional sales force efforts seem to be rusting with the changes in perceptions and expectations of physicians, patients and the total customer base. Earlier till date, the onus of marketing and spreading awareness of newly discovered medicines and drugs had been on sales team with frequent visits to clinics and appointments with physicians and doctors as the major activity of Marketing Charter. However, with the knowledge of new and categorical diseases with specialized physicians, mass marketing seems to take a back seat. Now Pfizer aims to focus on specialized diseases with less of talking and persuading the physicians with sales force efforts. Pfizer has learned a lesson from its Viagra sales experience. In its spree to extract maximum benefits from its Viagra proposition for ED (Erectile Dysfunction), it distributed a large number of samples and free medicine to clinics and physicians, resulting into a faulty determination of the exact demand. There were more of curious customers than actually afflicted ones, which led to an instant upsurge in demand at the time of the launch of the Viagra. This was all because the sales team was too aggressive in its efforts. Learning from this experience, the market segmentation now calls for

How shopping centres and social spaces have changed in terms of Dissertation

How shopping centres and social spaces have changed in terms of architecture and design from 1976-2012 - Dissertation Example This paper discusses that from the perspective of history of art and visual design, the evolution from commercial marketing areas and shopping centres to departmental stores, supermarkets, malls and mega malls, are significant developments since 1976 in Britain. During the time Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, 1979-1990, a wide policy of privatization resulted in the establishment of urban development corporations. Control over urban development was seized from local government. This resulted in the widespread privatisation of public space such as the development of shopping centres or malls. According to McGuigan, â€Å"such privatisation of public space erodes urbanity and social cohesion†. During the last few decades, increasing private spaces in public areas have been identified; most are owned by private individuals, organisations and financial institutions; while government-owned space is considered as ‘public’. Privatisation in the public domain is ide ntified in various cases including the emergence of multipurpose shopping centres. Thus, one aspect of privatisation is known as Malling, which reshapes the structure of cities. London’s public spaces and mega shopping malls like Brent Cross in the north-west, Wood Green in the north and Westfield in west London focus on the multidimensional functions that mall culture offers to its clientele. Private developers are aiming to create miniature cities with high quality community space. An extensive variety of shops, services and car parks are provided in these modern interpretations of the High Street. Since they require large areas, they are usually located on the outer suburbs of the city (Grolle 7). Components of the built environment are related to abstract concepts, social relations or ideologies through culturally determined systems of association. They combine to communicate social meaning. The built environment first represents its function, expressing its practical pur pose. Thus, the shopping centre constructed in a wide range of styles â€Å"announces itself through its location and its conventional form as a palace of consumption† (Goss 36). Even the most technologically limited architectural solutions give symbolic expression. The built environment is full of meaning with various nuances; it serves its main objective and also extends beyond its primary function. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the history and development of the architectural design of London’s shopping centres from Brent Cross to Westfield including other malls like Wood Green, between 1976-2012. British mall culture’s roots in the United States will be identified. The transformations in visual design in malls and social spaces will be examined; and the impact of globalisation, consumerism, fashions, branding, and new product versions will be determined. ADVANCES IN THE DESIGN OF SHOPPING CENTRES AND SOCIAL SPACES FROM BRENT CROSS TO WESTFIELD: 1976 – 2012 Shopping is the most important contemporary social activity, and is mostly carried out in the shopping centre. Developers and designers of the retail built environment exploit the significance of the space to enhance consumption and subsequently ensure the realization of retail profits. They strive to provide other purposes for the shopping centre’s existence, â€Å"manipulate shoppers’ behaviour through the configuration of space, and consciously design a symbolic landscape that induces associative moods and nature in the shopper† (Goss 18). By examining these strategies, it will be possible to gain an understanding of how the retail environment works. â€Å"Brent Cross Shopping Centre and Wood Green Shopping City are both a product of the expansion and large scale investment that occurred in London during the 1970s†

Immigration The Guest Worker Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration The Guest Worker Program - Essay Example Yet there are jobs within certain sectors that are not very attractive to many, but immigrants will take what they can get. In other words, they will do the jobs that many won't do. The United State's guest worker program has modeled itself largely after the European guest worker program. The European system has failed in many different areas. The European program began hiring workers within their guest worker program after World War II and these guest workers never returned home, therefore they became permanent. This scenario seems to be the expectation of President Bush's guest worker program in the United States. The research that has been conducted on the European system has more or less been ignored and will result in a large pool of immigrants with very few legal rights that would make our current problems grow (Unknown). The failures in the French guest worker program resulted in the Parisian riots in 2005. These riots were the results of young people who were the "leftovers" of the French guest worker program and their neighborhoods consistent of poverty and large numbers of the unemployed. They needed to be pushed into the French mainstream rather than be placed upon the backburner and ignored (Unknown). Where the United States used to be considered the place where dreams were made. It was said that any man could achieve anything as long as he could work for it, but the guest worker program could or could not make this possible. Men used to be able to work for everything they had whether they were born in the United States or not and this is what immigrants are hoping for (Unknown). This makes the guest worker program a very important debate. Again, where the United States has always been viewed as the land where dreams come true, immigrants want to have that chance just like many immigrants before them did. They want to improve their lives, but the guest worker program could result in these immigrants breaking laws in order to try and achieve more freedoms and illegally stay here. One significant problem is that currently, there are employers within the United States who take advantage of illegal immigrants by paying them low wages. They are feeding off of the fact that the illegal immigrant wants to be within the United States that bad. Many of these illegal immigrants fear that they are going to be deported when asked to verify documentation. Instead of raids being held in which the immigrant must produce documentation that they are in the United States legally, Bush states that better border patrol needs to be implemented to keep them from entering the United States to begin with (USCIS). This is one issue that President Bush is hoping the guest worker program will eliminate. Yet, unless border security is significantly amped up, certain rules within the guest worker program will backfire. The guest worker would be required to register and pay a possible fee. This fee would depend on whether or not the immigrant currently resides within the country or is living outside of the country. They will then be given a temporary worker card. There are other aspects such as Bush working closely with the foreign governments to make sure incentives existed for the foreign worker to make them return to their home country. Bush also proposes that the credit