Sustainability In Discount Retailing at Wal Mart

Sustainability In Discount Retailing at Wal Mart Porter (2002) states that root of the problem lies in the lack of distinguishing between operation effectiveness and strategy. The expedition for productivity, quality and speed has resulted in management tools and techniques, total quality management benchmarking, time based competition, outsourcing, partnering, reengineering, change management. In any organization, strategy management is the key to its success. There are many theories based on this assumption that without a proper strategy and planning, it is difficult for any industry to survive irrespective of its size. It is necessary to understand here that all the major corporate organizations have established themselves, thanks to superior strategic planning and implementation. The retail industry is making news everywhere with not only the traditional industries increasing their outlets but some major corporate industries also intruding into this industry like Fresh @ Reliance of Reliance Industries, More of Aditya Birla Gro up in India. Wal-Mart, a US based retail industry, which is known as the giant in the retail industry has survived and is still the huge enterprise in the world which deals with almost all the FB products, apparels, etc. It is not only the largest company in world but also the largest company in the history of world.(Fishman, 2006) The present paper is divided into four sections to understand and answer as what makes Wal-Mart the best in the industry, 1) retailing industry at the time of Wal-Marts innings, 2) Wal-Marts Competitive advantage and key components, 3) Wal-Marts Strategy and 4) Sustainable growth of Wal-Mart. I. Retail Industry Wal-Mart says Hello! Strategic decisions are ones that are aimed at differentiating an organization from its competitors in a way that is sustainable in the future. (Porter, 2002) Porter strongly advocates that decisions in business can be classified as strategic if they involve some innovation and difference that results in sustainable advantage. According to Patrick Hayden et al (2002) the retailing industry adopted the style of discounting on its merchandise after the Second World War. It is learnt that discount retailing was not the strategy at the time Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart first started operating their business. Frank (2006) states that when Sam Walton was franchising for Ben Franklins variety store, invented an idea of passing on the savings to his customers and earning his profits through volume. Prior to Wal-Marts entry into the market, Sidney and Hebert from Harrison founded Two Guys discount store in the year 1946 which dealt in hardware, automotive parts and later on groceries. Two Guys was the forerunner as compared to todays retailers like Super Target, Wal-Mart which succumbed to the economic recession. Another discount store set up by Eugene as E.J. Korvette, which is often cited as first discount store which did not raise from 5 10 cents roots and eventually declared bankruptcy due to inability to compete with the new entrants. Porter (2002) states that combination of operational effectiveness and strategy is essential for superior performance which is the primary goal of any organization. He also says that a company can perform its rivals only if it can operate in different ways which are not in practice. Much emphasis had been laid on strategic positioning like variety based positioning, needs based positioning and access based positioning. Along with Wal-Mart, other stores that started operating were Target, Woolworth (Woolco) and K-Mart. However, Target has been functioning successfully, courtesy Wal-Mart, but other two failed in their operations and filed bankruptcy.( Michael Bergdahl, 2004) Porters five forces model explains what strategic decisions should be made and on what basis. The model explains the basic strategies to be considered while starting a business like bargaining power of suppliers. While franchising of Franklin he always looked for cheaper deals and thought of passing his savings to the customers and earning through the margin on volume of bulk purchases. Through the way of discount stores, shoppers were given the cheapest price as compared to any other store. In regard to threats of new entrants, Wal-Mart has been constantly in the news for acquisition of other small retail shops in view of its expansion. But nevertheless it has stiff competition from likes of Super Target, Tesco, etc. it is the w orlds biggest retail industry. II. Key Components of Wal-Mart Business Model Wal-Mart is the leader in retailing industry with fiscal revenue of $244.52 billion in 2003 making it the worlds largest corporation. Mike reports that Wal-Mart as of 2002 had 1,283,000 employees growing at 11.2%. The above data explains that strategy of Wal-Mart is extraordinary which manages and operates over 4150 retail facilities globally.The key components of Wal-Mart (The Value Chain), which offers cheap prices than its competitors includes firm infrastructure like frugal culture, no regional offices and pleasant environment to work. Managements take lots of visits and it is learnt there are no rehearsals before any meeting which is usually scheduled on every Saturday. In any organization, human resource is the key to development and Wal-Mart efficiently manages its sources. Wal-Mart terms its employees as associates. Manager compensation is linked to the profit of store operated by him, within promotions, compensation offered to associates depending on companys profits and als o offered some incentives on their performances. The workforce at Wal-Mart is not unionized as the company takes all the measures of their benefits and provides them training on related issues. Technology plays a vital role in development of the organization and Wal-Mart is well equipped with technological innovations like POS, store performance tracking, real time market research, satellite system and UPC. Wal-Mart procurement measures like hard-nosed negotiations, partnerships with some vendors, centralized buying, planning packets, etc. helps at large the cause of providing the goods and services on cheap prices. The other factors that increase the margin of profit for Wal-Mart are inbound logistics with frequent replenishment, automated DCs cross docking, pick to flight, EDI, hub and spoke system. Wal-Mart strategy of operation is innovative with big stores in small towns with monopoly in the market at low rental costs, local prices, concentric expansion, merchandising in brand name, private labels, little space for inventory, store within store, etc. In relation to marketing and sales, merchandising is tailored from locals, spent less on advertising and the prices are fixed low and it depends on the store manager to fix the latitude of pricing. All the above factors combined together form the key components of Wal-Mart which not only increase the margin of profits through bulk sales but also boost the confidence of the customers with services like point of sale information system and everyday low prices. III. Wal-Mart Strategy Wal-Mart dominates the American retailing industry due to number of factors like its business model which is still a mystery and its effectiveness in not letting the rivals let know about the weaknesses. Wal-Mart made strategic attempts in the its formulation to dominate the retail market where it has its presence, growth by expansion in the US and Internationally, create widespread name recognition and customer satisfaction in relation to brand name Wal-Mart and branching into new sectors of retailing. It is learnt that Wal-Mart strives on three generic strategies consisting of Focus Strategy, the Differentiation Strategy and overall cost leadership. Managers strive hard to make their organizations unique, distinctive and identify key success factors that will drive the customers to buy their products.Thus, firm specific resources and capabilities are crucial in explaining the firms performance. The Resource Based View (RBV) explains competitive heterogeneity based on the premise that close competitors differ in their resources and capabilities in important and durable ways. The companys capability can be found through its functionality, reliable performance, like Wal-Mart superior logistics. (Helfat, 2002) Wal-Mart has firm infrastructure, well equipped in human resource with management professionals and technologically too. Any organizations thrive hard to be successful for which it needs to have better resources and superior capabilities. Wal-Mart has strong RBV with economically and financially very strong enough to stand still in the time of crisis. Pereira states that dominating the retail market is its key strategy. Wal-Mart operates on low price strategy which is operated as every day low prices (EDLP) which builds trust among the customers.(Brunn, 2006)The strategy lies in purchasing the goods at lower prices and selling the goods to customer at much lower prices, cutting the price as far as possible and increasing the profit by increasing the number of sales. This ferociously increases the competition in the market and Wal-Mart competes with all its competitors till it is dominant it the market. Wal-Mart is expanding seriously and rapidly which is also its strategic goal. Wal-Mart employs over 1.3 associates, owns over 4000 stores out of which 3000 are in US and serves around 100 million customers weekly. Wal-Mart has acquired many international stores and merged with some super stores like ASDA in UK. Wal-Mart far flung network of retail outlets has ensured that Wal-Mart interacts with and has impact on virtually every locality within US. (Helfat, 2002) The expanded strategy has led the hunger of Wal-Mart to many European Countries. It is learnt that three countries with no Wal-Mart stores became part of corporations international presence wherein the domestic retail chains were taken over by Wal-Mart including 122 Woolco stores in Canada, 21 Wertkauf stores in Germany and 229 ASDA units in United Kingdom. The takeover strategy by Wal-Mart keeps the company at forefront when entering into the new market and the number of competitors is also minimized. The strategies have he lped the Wal-Mart to rein in number one position in international countries making it the largest retailer in the world. It is seen that Wal-Mart has significantly the Porters five force model wherein through proper strategic planning and strategic implementation has led to removal of barrier entry, rivalry from competitors and pricing norms. In regard to substitutes, Wal-Mart in order to achieve its aim of customer satisfaction has selling goods under its own legal brand. Wal-Marts big box phenomenon has changed the retailing industry in the United States which is often considered as discount stores and makes profit through high volume of purchases and low markup on profits.(Parnell, 2008)Wal-Mart with its low cost and ever expanding strategy has made a dramatic impact since 1962 when Sam Walton first started his business. With this strategy, Wal-Mart has now over 4000 stores and outlets in US and other countries through acquisition and mergers. IV. Sustainability in Discount Retailing Wal-Mart According to Porter, (2002) operational effectiveness and efficiency are the key elements of success in any organization. A company can outperform its rivals or competitors in the market only with superior management and efficient control creating a difference from the others which eventually attracts customers. Porter defines operational effectiveness as performance of similar activities as its rivals but better than them. In a study, it is stated the Wal-Mart is expert in manipulating perceptions. It is termed that low price is not the strategy of Wal-Mart but the advertisement manipulates the consumer perceptions by making them think that its prices are lower than its competitors price using price spin. Wal-Mart makes the consumer addicted coming to its stores by convincing them the prices are lower than in the other stores by selling itself cheaper by advertising that we have lower prices than anyone else and placing a opening price point. The opening price point is the lowest pr ice in the store which is kept at high visibility which makes consumer believes that the products in this store are really cheaper. (Race Cowgill, 2005) The SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart reveals that it is most powerful retail brand, reputation for money, value, commitment, and provides wide range of products. It is growing at a brisk pace with expanding its horizon to other parts of world through acquisition and merger. Wal-Mart has good opportunities in markets of Europe and China and focuses on acquiring the market through acquisition of smaller stores and merger with leaders in the specific markets. Wal-Mart is always under threat to sustain its top position in market nationally and internationally. Global leader in the industry leaves the organization vulnerable to many socioeconomic and political problems of the country. Sustainability at the top place is the most important job that makes its managers strives hard to frame the policies and strategy to compete with its rivals in the market. Slack, Imitation, Substitution and Hold-up are some of the threats to any organization in retail industry. However, Wal-Mart with its visionary goal of attaining zero waste status and reaching 100% renewable energy has planned to launch number of sustainability initiatives. (GreenBiz, 2008) Imitation increase profits by increasing the supply. But imitation puts reputation, relationship at stake. James Hall reports that Wal-Mart is planning to open convenience stores as Tesco has started and operating in US called Fresh Easy Neighborhood Markets. (James, 2008) Such tactics will create mixed response among the consumers while degrading the reputation of the leader in market. Substitution reduces the demand for what a firm uniquely provides by shifting the demand elsewhere due to changes in technology. The threats of substitution can be subtle and unexpected like minimizing expenses through videoconferencing instead of air flights to long distance meetings with its managers of other stores, etc. Therefore, substation is an especially effective way of attacking dominant rivals in the market. Substitution offers mixed responses after identifying and understanding the threats. The organization should fight the threat and merging with them, switching to different options of substitution to be in the market. Hold-up diverts the value to customers, suppliers or complementors who have some bargaining leverage which results in tough negotiations, contractual agreements and vertical integration. Wal-Mart is having great network with almost over 7800 stores and Sams Club locations in 16 markets worldwide. It employs more than 2 million associates and serves more than 100 million customers every year. According to Fishman (2006) Americans spend $26 million every hour at Wal-Mart which makes it believable that Wal-Mart is financially very strong and is capable of combating any threat from its rivals in the market. Wal-Mart is ever expanding its boundaries by way of acquisition and mergers. Thus Wal-Mart with such a vast network of stores and alliances in the forms of ASDA, Target and many other stores is well protected enough to sustain its top position in the retail industry.

Objective of Punishment

Objectives of Punishment There have been many rules throughout history some choose to follow those rules and some choose to break the rules. The big question is the product to those who should break the rules. There was a day when parents could spank their children freely and accepted as simply normal. As the years went on, society started to see how people would take it too far. Therefore, laws had to change. It is the same within today’s prison system. Individuals are in prison because they broke the rules and would have to serve their time. Some go to federal prison and some go to state prisons. It depends on the type of crime that a person commits; because these prisons harbor different types of criminals they also have different guidelines to follow in terms to punishing the inmates. How does sending one person to state or one person to federal prison affect the correctional system altogether? The State of California’s main goal of sentencing is to match the community sanctions with the offender. The types of community sanctions include: Criminal offenders who benefit from prevention services and are at risk of committing more crimes include: juvenile offenders with learning difficulties, high school dropouts, and urban youth gang members. Prevention services may include activities such as special education programs, and big brother programs. Criminal offenders who have received and benefited from these early intervention services are mostly first time offenders. Early intervention programs can significantly decrease the offender’s chances for committing crimes in the future. Offenders need substance abuse and alcohol counseling-related services, work skill development, and education, (Nieto, 1996). Offenders eligible for these programs are people in prison who can divert to alternative services and programs. The convicted offenders can be a second time or even a third time offenders who failed probation and even convicted of several of nonviolent offenses. California's â€Å"three strike's law,† can result in convicted felon sentenced to prison for life if the convicted offenders first two felonies were violent crimes and the third felony committed by the repeat offender is also a violent crime, (Nieto, 1996). The main goal of these sentencing guidelines is to put the targeted offenders with appropriate community sanctions. However, there are some differences and variations in the California sentencing guidelines, which include the punishment by the nature of crime committed, frequency, and severity. A good example took place in Michigan. If an offender is arrested for burglary, which is a class ‘C' felony in the state of Michigan, and a previous drug arrest, which are also a class C crime. The Michigan sentencing guideline rates provide sentencing options from alternative community corrections to a two-year prison sentence, (Nieto, 1996). The community correction’s alternative gives the judge the option of sentencing the criminal offender to a community-based and secured substance abuse treatment program for a period of six months. Upon successful completion of the treatment program, the offender must complete a probationary period. The discretion of the judge comes from a vast array of options. However, if an offender is found guilty of a serious felony and has prior nonviolent felony, sentencing guidelines provide community corrections and alternatives are not authorized and a minimum two-year prison sentence may be requisite, (Nieto, 1996). Until 1975, the federal bureau of prisons operated under the principles of the medical model of managing inmates. The medical model entailed educational, vocational, and treatment programs that attempted to transform criminal behavior into a positive and productive behaviors that would benefit society. The medical model utilized the federal inmate classification system to manage the inmate population and promote individualized treatment, (Miller, 2011). By 1975, the federal bureau of prisons had a much greater inmate population than it had several decades earlier during its inception, and they adopted the balanced model to manage those inmates. The balanced model no longer promoted individualized treatment. The balanced model was a composite model that focused on a combination of the principles of rehabilitation, deterrence, retribution, and incapacitation, (Miller, 2011). Several other major changes over the last few decades have affected the sentencing of those convicted of violating federal laws. The U. S. Sentencing Commission of 985 limited the use of probation for federal offenses, particularly for drug offenses and violent crimes. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 limited the amount of time the prisoners could reduce from their sentences for good behavior. This new law mandated that federal prisoners must serve a minimum of 85% of their sentence. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 also abolished the use of parole for federal p risoners, (Miller, 2011). Federal prisons manage their inmates within the guidelines of a Prisoners Bill of Rights. The prisoner’s rights include clean and decent living environments. Prisoners also have the rights to develop and maintain skills as a productive worker and have the rights to maintain and reinforce family and community ties, (Miller, 2011). The adoption of prisoner rights has helped the federal prisons avoid much of the legal turmoil that has embroiled the state prison systems. Most of the United States economist believed that in today’s times, the USA experiences the most drastic crisis in decades. All states in the United States report about significant budget shortfalls. As the results, the state governments significantly have to reduce their spending for correctional system. For the last two decades of the 20th Century, the spending for state and federal penitentiaries increased 600% because of the growth of measured requiring economic expenditures, for example, mandatory minimum sentences, truth in sentencing laws and three-strike legislation, (Carlson, 2008). Although economic trends started affecting the consideration of sentencing policy, the public attitude toward crimes has greatly changed. Polls show that more people think that it is necessary to address the root causes of crimes and less support the use of strict measures toward criminals. The attitude toward mandatory sentencing also underwent a change. The pool conducted in 2005 showed that 38% think that mandatory sentencing is a good idea whereas 45% of respondents prefer judicial discretion. This radical change in the attitude can be causing significant drop in the crime rate registered in the country, (Carlson, 2008). State and federal governments respond to the impact of the economic crisis on the correction system in a number of ways. The nature of problems varies, depending on the state, and so varies the strategies used. The most popular measures are as follows: prison closings, cuts of the staff in corrections, reviewing the budget of corrections concerning nonessentials, reconsidering sentencing schemes, establishing sentencing committees and commissions. Everything in life changes all the time and will always be that way, which is why everything about the past be called history. The rules and regulations for punishing the wicked and wrong doers always have been around. Many past mistakes made; consequently, the rules had to have either adjusted or completely erased altogether to fix these mistakes. The system of punishment is not a design to humiliate or degrade individual in any way, it is an intention to teach the difference between what is right and what is wrong according to the guidelines set forth by government officials. As the rules and regulations change, it affects the state and federal prison systems. They have had to become more lenient and tolerant with the individuals punished for their crimes. Still they have to try to maintain order within the walls of the confinement even though tougher laws outside the walls are making it easier to put individuals behind bars causing overcrowding and less money for security. References Carlson, Peter M. (2008). Garrett, Judith Simon, Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory, Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Miller, Whitehead (2011). Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals, 4th Edition, p140, Chapter 6, State and Federal Prisons, Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Nieto, Marcus (May 1996). Community Correction Punishments: An Alternative To Incarceration for Nonviolent Offenders. http://www. library. ca. gov/crb/96/08/#RTFToC6.

A play written by J. B. Priestly Essay

An Inspector Calls, a play written by J. B. Priestly in 1945. He set his play in 1912 just before the First World War. It is a story of the visit by an Inspector to an apparently normal family, the Birlings. The Birlings are celebrating their daughter Shelia’s engagement to Gerald Croft. Mr. Birling a successful factory owner gets the ball rolling with a speech, which he gives to his son Eric, and Gerald Croft. J. B Priestly makes good use of dramatic irony in this speech because many events took place after 1912, which we the modern audience, know about but Mr. Birling doesn’t. Mr. Birling mentioned that the miners came out on a strike and there would be possible labour trouble in the near future. He said that there wouldn’t be any more worries about the strikes. But in 1926 we know that there was a General Strike in Britain. He talks about the Titanic being a spectacular ship with every luxury and it is absolutely unsinkable. But as we know in 1912 the Titanic sunk on maiden voyage and 1,513 lives were lost. He also mentioned about the wars not happening. He said that the Germans don’t want war. But in 1914 the First World War broke out. He said that there would peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere but in 1917 there was revolution in Russia. In 1939 the Second World War broke out and in 1945 the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. This makes the audience doubt Mr Birling early on in the play. When Mr. Birling finishes his speech the Inspector enters into the scene. The Inspector is at the Birling’s because there was a death of a woman Eva Smith and he had come to ask questions about her. Mr. Birling was the first person that we were led to believe started off the train of events that ultimately led to the death of Eva Smith. Mr. Birling had sacked Eva Smith from his factory after she started to cause trouble demanding higher wages. Mr Birling says that any man in his position would have done the same. She was making trouble as Mr. Birling said, ‘She had a lot to say – far too much so she had to goi. But the only thing that Mr. Birling cared about was his family and the progress of his business. He didn’t care about his workers and he didn’t know them. As he says in Act 1 â€Å"I have a couple of hundred workers under me, who keep changing†. So there wasn’t a personal relationship between these two until after the workers came back from their holidays that they were asking for a pay rise. As Mr. Birling wouldn’t, he sacked the ringleaders and one of them was Eva Smith. Now that Eva was sacked she was out of work for two months. She had no money and she was half starved. She had no one to help her. Her parents had died so they couldn’t offer any help and her friends had nothing to offer her. But then again it wasn’t the end of the world and she was capable of getting another job as we find out.

Harry Potter s Portrayal Of Magical Creatures - 2223 Words

Cichon7 Nicole Cichon Ms. Vyse English II Honors 15 March 2016 J. K. Rowling?s Portrayal of Magical Creatures in the Harry Potter Series as Compared to Creatures in Ancient Mythology The world famous book series, Harry Potter, has been an instant success worldwide. This series follows the life of a young boy, Harry Potter, in chronological order from the beginning to the end of his schooling. Harry Potter is schooled at a magical school somewhere in England, which is where the majority of the books take place. He is an adventurous boy who experiences many different quests and journeys with his loyal friends. This book series focuses mainly on the many magical creatures from many different types of mythology, some even including stories with Indian, Greek, or Roman backgrounds. J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, incorporates these magical animals into the stories? plots and help to convey several messages about Harry Potter. The mythical creatures that are the most prominent in Rowling?s series are the dragons and werewolves. T he dragon and werewolf both have origins found in mythology and are crucial to Rowling?s themes in the books Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, furthering the messages that Rowling is trying to portray to her audience. In the Harry Potter series, written by J. K. Rowling, Rowling uses two specific magical creatures that have many correlations to ancient mythology and help to widen theShow MoreRelatedMagical Beasts By Harry Potter1487 Words   |  6 PagesJulie Miner Ms. Vyse English II 12 April 2016 Magical Beasts Throughout the series of Harry Potter, many creatures appear in the books and put into greater detail in the movies. Were these famous magical creatures made up or compared to something similar in mythology and folklore? There are many famous creatures throughout the story that add curiosity to one?s mind when first reading about one. The feeling one may get is to be able to see what this creature is capable of doing in comparison to othersRead MoreHarry Potter And The Sorcerer s Stone1655 Words   |  7 Pages1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone By: J.K. Rowling 2. 309 pages The genre of this novel is a mix between fantasy and mystery. It takes place in an alternate universe at a school of witchcraft and wizardry. It also has an element of mystery, you are constantly trying to find out what has happened to Harry in his past. It also includes fictional creatures like fluffy the 3 headed dog and games like quidditch that resemble modern games like football and soccer. One theme from this book is friendshipRead MoreChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 PagesLocke: Late 1600s 8 3. Beginning of Children’s Literature: Late 1700s 10 4. Fairy and Folk Tales 12 The Golden Age of Children’s Literature: Late 1800s 12 5. Victorian Childrens Literature 16 6. Contemporary Childrens Literature 18 6. Analysis of Harry Potters’ series 21 7. Conclusion 30 8. Summary 31 Children’s Literature Definitions 31 The Ancient World [ancient Rome; 50 BCE to 500 CE] 31 The Middle Ages [500 to 1500 CE] 31 The European Renaissance [1500-1650 CE] 32 The 17th Century 34 The 18th and