Criminal Law Foundations Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal Law Foundations Evaluation - Essay Example The flipside of the above development is that criminal elements have taken advantage of the interactive nature of globalisation to perpetuate crime in the US. In the US, the September 11th Attacks serves as the epitome of the downsides of globalisation since the attacks were planned overseas by Al-Qaeda elements and executed by hijacking airplanes before crushing them against buildings. Terrorism becomes more complicated to the US criminal justice system, given that globalisation has helped make America more multicultural. For this cause, America harbours people with criminal intent and no patriotism to the country. Courtesy of the same globalisation, the US has had to contend with the smuggling of narcotics from Latin American countries such as Mexico and Columbia, into the American soil. Similarly, the financial implications of globalisation on the US criminal justice system is underscored by the fact that since globalisation has made terrorism a global problem and America's intere sts are spread both locally and globally, the US has had to increase and fine-tune the operations of its law enforcement agencies to incorporate US' international interests. It is against the same backdrop that the US also has made frantic efforts to spread its ideals on justice and the war on terror. The US has made several efforts to have different states the world over pass and domesticate the antiterrorism bill. Comparing And Contrasting International Criminal Justice Systems (Civil Law, Common law, and Islamic Law and Socialist Law traditions) According to Dammer and Albanese (2010), the difference between civil and common law is that the latter is based on case laws and customs, while civil law mainly depends on the principle of legality and Roman law. In the common law, the judge will have to use inductive reasoning about facts presented to him, while in civil law, the judge uses deductive reasoning. In common law, the court of law can fashion an equitable solution, as one th at is fair. In civil law, it is inappropriate for the court to contrive a remedy that is not prescribed in the code. Again, in common law, the judge and jury may preside over the case, as opposed to the civil law where as panel of judges, or just one judge may preside over the case. Islamic law on the other hand appreciates human action by dividing them into the permitted [halal] and the prohibited [haram]. These are also further subdivided into different degrees of good or evil, through the use of various descriptions such as forbidden, objectionable, neutral, recommended and/ or obligatory. The source of Shariah or Islamic Law is the Quran and Islamic tradition such as Hadith. The verdict arrived at are therefore a derivation of religious views in the Quran, the Hadith and interpretations of religious scholars. The verdicts that are issued under Islamic Law are harsh since offences committed are deemed to have been committed against God. Similarly, democratic principles and even g ender parity do not feature therein. Discussing the Impact That Cyber Crime and Technology Have Had On Worldwide Justice Systems It is a fact that cybercrime and technology have impacted judicial systems, worldwide. For

Department store Essay Example for Free

Department store Essay What are the main organizational causes of the frustration that Ayshia Coles feels? There are some main organizational causes of frustration that Ayshia Coles feels. Firstly, she feels that her responsibilities and line of authority are not clearly defined in the relationship between IT and the bank’s other departments. Secondly, there are many vagueness of requests send to IT. Moreover, FMBT has a problem about communication between units leading to complex problem. Finally, IT staff limited to application so they feels underused. 2. If you were Marshall Pinkard, how would you address both Ayishia’s request for clarification about her authority and responsibilities and the underlying problems be addressed with minor adjustment or would you need to consider a drastic overhaul of the bank organizational structure? What environmental and technological factors would influence your decision? If I were Marshall Pinkard, I would have some temporary solutions. Initially, he should set up a meeting with the company executives and managers for all departments in vertical- redefined the lines of authorities for all managers. He has to lay out the responsibilities for all the managers including Ayishia. Next, he should announce the other department about problems faced by IT and encourage communication among departments. Besides that, he can develop a  innovation process for submitting requests to IT department. Concurrently, he should motivate IT staffs for creative inputs of IT to improve the company. The most important thing is that the FMBT should restructure their organization. Although it will take a long time to achieve it, it makes company’s perform better than now. 3. Sketch a general chart for the type of organization that you think would work best for IT at FMBT?

machiavelli :: essays research papers fc

Niccolo Machiavelli Statesman and Political Philosopher 1469 - 1527 No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution. —Machiavelli from The Art of War I was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy. I was a political philosopher and diplomat during the Renaissance, and I’m most famous for my political treatise, The Prince (1513), that has become a cornerstone of modern political philosophy. My life was very interesting. I lived a nondescript childhood in Florence, and mine main political experience in my youth was watching Savanarola from afar. Soon after Savanarola was executed, I entered the Florentine government as a secretary. My position quickly rose, however, and was soon engaging in diplomatic missions. I met many of the important politicians of the day, such as the Pope and the King of France, but none had more impact on me than a prince of the Papal States, Cesare Borgia. Borgia was a cunning, cruel man, very much like the one portrayed in The Prince. I did not truly like Borgia's policies, but I thought that with a ruler like Borgia the Florentines could unite Italy, which was my goal throughout life. Unfortunately for myself, I was dismissed from office when the Medici came to rule Florence and the Republic was overthrown. The lack of a job forced me to switch to writing about politics instead of being active. My diplomatic missions were my last official gove rnment positions. When I lost my office, desperately I wanted to return to politics. I tried to gain the favor of the Medici by writing a book of what I thought were the Medici's goals and dedicating it to them. And so The Prince was written for that purpose. Unfortunately, the Medici didn't agree with what the book said, so I was out of a job. But when the public saw the book, they were outraged. The people wondered how cruel a man could be to think evil thoughts like the ones in The Prince, and this would come back to haunt me when I was alive and dead. However, if the people wanted to know what my self really stood for, they should have read my "Discourses on Livy", which explains my full political philosophy. But not enough people had and have, and so the legacy of The Prince continues to define my person to the general public.

Describe the Type of Business, Its Purpose and Ownership

Describe the type of business, purpose and ownership of two contrasting businesses. I will be speaking about two organisations the first organisation I have decided to discuss is ASDA and I will follow it of by McDonald's as the second organisation. Asda is a Public company and is a British supermarket chain which supplies various services to the customers such as: Clothing, Food, and General Merchandise etc. It has become a multi-national store leading of its subsidiary of Wal-Mart which is American based. It is quite a large business and has approx 231+ superstores within the UK, and the number of store openings is still arising.The purpose of ASDA is to sell its services and goods to the local consumers of different areas/cities within the UK and also out of the UK. It offers a wide range of services to its customers, supplying goods such as: clothing and food it is a quite a commonly known organisation. Asda is concerned in attracting the budget market as any other business would look into the same type of aim, as a business it is achieving massively in result to the number of stores and the investment into Netto which was brought by Asda in 2010.The ownership of Asda is a PLC (Public Limited Company) this is because its shares can be brought on the share market making it a PLC. The purpose of Asda is that they exist to gain profit, the openings of more stores is to gain sales and so that more customers come into their business etc. As my second organisation I have decided to discuss about McDonalds, it is the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurant. The business began in 1940 the Headquarters are based in the United States and the corporation was founded by a businessman.In 2003 the company had launched the â€Å"I’m Lovin It† campaign. The purpose of the business is to serve its customers with the excellent quality of food that they provide. It is a worldwide company and has over 33,000 stores in approx 118 different countries, and serves about 64 million daily. The number of worldwide employees for McDonalds is 1. 7 million, and the chief executive director for McDonald’s is Jim Skinner.

Reflection on a business education course

Contemplation harmonizing to Walker E. S ( 2006 ) P 216 has been defined as â€Å" a procedure sing believing about and researching an issue of concern, which is triggered by an experience † . This merely means that for there to be a contemplation, there has to be an experience, irrespective of it being positive or negative. Leaver- Dunn et Al were besides noted in Walker E. S ( 2006 ) p 216 that contemplation has the ability to separate between the expert practicians and their equals. To get down with and looking manner back to the beginning of this peculiar class it is interesting to observe that being an international pupil from Nigeria and analyzing Marketing Communications in the University of Bedfordshire was an experience ne'er to be forgotten, Is have been through assorted signifiers of transmutation, since the session started in September 21st,2009. Transformation theory, that was ab initio developed by Jack Mezirow, â€Å" identifies a procedure of alteration that begins with an experience one can non integrate into the mental matrix built from anterior life experience, and which normally includes the undermentioned constituents: a disorientating quandary, self scrutiny, a critical appraisal of premises, the acknowledgment that others have gone through similar procedures, the geographic expedition of options for organizing new functions, relationships or actions, the preparation of a program of action and reintegration into the experience with new, transformed positions † . Fuguan Tan ( 2009 ) Talking about transmutation, i personally come from a state that the educational system is wholly different from that of Europe, peculiarly the United Kingdom. I was able to come to footings with the fact that at that place existed a school calendar that will be purely followed and one saw myself in an organized scene. At first I had jobs coming to footings with being the lone Nigerian miss in my category until subsequently when I was joined by another chap from my place state, this gave me a spot of assurance as to confronting the ambitious class. In the words of Aileen C. and Elaine E, ( 2004 ) they wrote that exhaustively reflecting on pattern is really a cardinal characteristic of effectual acquisition, they went on to specify contemplation as concentrating on the immediate, thereby showing the inside informations of a job or undertaking. As an person I agree with the demand to reflect or instead concentrate on the immediate, this will decidedly assist to do corrections for the hereafter and non do the same errors already made if at all there was any. Further in the words of Horton-Deutsch. S and Sherwood Gwen ( 2008, p 947 ) contemplation involves â€Å" believing about experience, which leads scholars to a Fuller apprehension of what they know and increases their possible for leading † . Besides true in my position is the statement of Horton-Deutsch, who wrote that it is of import to reflect or believe back on the experience, which will in bend improve the person ‘s cognition about a peculiar state of affairs or increase the possible for greater highs. In most instances it is believed that the experience for analyzing abroad has great potency for transforming international pupil. I must state one went through some phases of transmutation such as meeting alteration, prosecuting in contemplation, reconfiguring perceptual experiences and re-acclimating to the state of affairs. Fuguan Tan ( 2009 ) Worthy of note is the point that throughout my survey in my place state, there has ne'er been an chance for me to reflect, this made it instead impossible for me to hold a re-think on my errors, and there was besides no chance to do corrections.5.2 WHAT DOES REFLECTION MEAN?Cunliffe, ( 2004, p. 414 ) defines contemplation â€Å" as the agencies or procedure through which an experience in the signifier of idea, feeling, or action, is examined to analyse its significance while it is go oning or later † . Kember et al. , ( 2000 ) , wrote that contemplation does stand for a point on a acquisition continuum which is so characterised by wont at one terminal and critical contemplation at the other. To Schon ( 1983 ) contemplation is referred to as the ability to rethink one ‘s anterior ideas and action in context, both to come up premises every bit good as to do significance. Contemplation, as written in Klenowski V and Lunt I ( 2008 ) is largely specifying with respects to conceptual constituents and theoretical positions. Horton-Deutsch S and Sherwood Gwen ( 2008 ) explained that â€Å" Reflection is about larning from experience, a critical facet of cognition development and a skill indispensable to leading development † . They both went on to reason on the footing that contemplation goes far beyond ordinary empirical knowing, but it besides combines personal and ethical ways of cognizing. Korthagen F and Vasalos A ( 2005 ) wrote that the indispensable importance of contemplation is to larn from experiences. Woerkom M ( 2010 ) referred to reflection in Deweyan ‘s position as instrumental acquisition ; he went farther to observe that it is the appraisal of premises implicit in beliefs about how to work out jobs. In this peculiar definition, contemplation therefore besides includes an component of unfavorable judgment but refers more to instrumental thought, which is concerned with how to work out a job. In contrast, Mezirow defines critical contemplation as turn toing the inquiry of the justification for the really premises on which jobs are posed or defined in the first topographic point and scrutiny of their beginnings and effects. Critical contemplation can non go an built-in component in the immediate action procedure but requires a suspension in which to reevaluate one ‘s significance positions and, if necessary, to transform them. Critical self-reflection refers to the most of import acquisition experience. It means reevaluating the manner we have posed jobs, our ain significance positions, every bit good as reevaluating our ain orientation to perceiving, cognizing, believing, feeling, and moving. Some of the bookmans perceived contemplation, as critical contemplation or critical thought. It is hence frequently non clear what the difference is, or even if there exist a difference, between these footings. Dewey, who is perceived as the laminitis of the construct of contemplation, sometimes uses the footings â€Å" brooding thought † and â€Å" critical thought † interchangeably. Scott. G.S ( 2010 )5.3 RECOLLECTIONAND PROCESS OF REFLECTION OF REFLECTIONThe theoretical model for contemplation harmonizing to Korthagen F and Vasalos A ( 2005, p48 ) is referred to as ALACT theoretical account. This theoretical account is said to trust on the premise that â€Å" by nature people reflect on their experiences † . The theoretical account besides describes a structured brooding procedure, but on the other manus, the theoretical account did non take note about the content of contemplation. On the other manus Scott. G S ( 2010 ) p 434 argued that the benefit of contemp lation has got extended theoretical support in literature, though Scott ‘s definition of contemplation is non without its ain statement. He went on to compose that the critical theoreticians ‘ contemplation is considered to â€Å" necessitate the surfacing of premises relative to state of affairss and surrounded steadfastly power dealingss, control and the transmutation of belief and values † . Reflection was interchangeably used by direction theoreticians as â€Å" personal, psychological alteration instead than societal alteration † Scott. G.S ( 2010 ) P 434 The function of pupil contemplation is an incorporate acquisition procedure, and contemplation has three phases: a reappraisal of experience, analysis, and re-evaluation ( Peltier, & A ; Drago, 2004 ; Peltier et al. , 2005 ) . The initial phase of this procedure is the reappraisal of experience and presupposes consciousness. That is, it presupposes that the experience in inquiry has been brought into consciousness. The term ‘reflection ‘ is often used really slackly and this can easy befog the disciplined and ambitious nature of such acquisition. Reynolds ( 1999 ) distinguishes between critical contemplation an attack in which both experience and its societal and political contexts are examined, contemplation which focuses on the person and gives small attending to societal or political procedures, and critical thought, a term which he argues is ‘usually used to mean a disciplined attack to job work outing ‘ ( Reynolds, 1999, p. 173 ) . He went on to claim that in the direction literature â€Å" critical contemplation † is being used in the weaker sense to depict thoughtful analysis or job work outing ‘ ( Reynolds, 1999, p. 177 ) . With respect to contemplation and acquisition, Argyris and Schon distinguish between individual cringle and dual cringle acquisition. For the exercising of individual cringle larning it is possible ‘by observing and reflecting on our ain actions, to do a description of the silent knowing implicit in them ‘ ( Schon, 1987, p. 25 ) .This enables us to analyze and measure such cognition. However, dual cringle larning involves non merely reflecting on one ‘s actions, but besides researching the premises and ‘theories-in usage ‘ which are embedded in those actions. Walsh ( 2009 )5.4 PERSONAL FEELINGS AND LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCEThe uncomfortableness that was felt at the beginning of the thesis was overpowering. It all started the first twenty-four hours that we were told to fix for the first thesis presentation, as I faced the fright I still was able to garner cognition. I wondered in the beginning if I could get by with the work in front of me, but with the encouragement of wise mans i was able to confront it and transport on. Brooding thought is to be used to heighten determination accomplishments, cultural sensitiveness, and teamwork, non merely express feelings or record in a diary what occurred, McInnis-Bowers et Al. ( 2010 ) In the words of Scott S G ( 2010 ) contemplation, is referred to as â€Å" the procedure of rethinking one ‘s anterior ideas and actions in context to come up premises and do significance. Contemplation represents one point on a acquisition continuum that is characterized by wont at one pole and critical contemplation at the other † . During the class of my survey peculiarly during the period I was composing up my thesis, the experience I had has thought me to believe in myself and halt thought I can non make it. It has thought me to ever confront my undertakings with whatever challenges that come with it. From this experience I have realised that there is no two ways about wining except through difficult work and there is a stating that goes therefore Proper, Prepara tion, Prevents, Poor, Performance 5P ‘s. The first feedback I had with my group members for the advancement in the Trident run which marked the boot off for the concluding thesis. It did non look a good start to me, because my group had a batch of things to work on and it was obvious non every group member was willing to work. Although the feeling did non function as a drawback it merely meant Is had to work harder. On that twenty-four hours we were advised on the three critical facets of the thesis which included the run program and study, literature reappraisal and eventually the contemplation. Before we attended the 2nd feedback, myself and the other three group members met on three occasions where we delegated work to each member on the undertaking in front, most of the clip it was two of the four members that was active, and on several cases i personally encouraged them to set in more attempt so we all can accomplish success at the terminal of the piece of work. The 2nd feedback which was on the ten percent of March, was attended by two supervisors and once more I was non happy with myself as no thorough research was done, my input was non good plenty and when we were asked what our run scheme meant, none of my group members could react, this became a spot cheerless. Looking frontward to a 60 unit faculty I felt truly down, but so it became a challenge. The job that was posed was the inability to set literature together to endorse our statements up but at the latter phase things got better. Again in the beginning it looked like we had trouble construing the brief, as we came up with several propositions, aims and scheme which seemed non to do sense, for this ground the undertaking became more competitory as the other two groups had the same subject and it seemed my group was non doing a head manner.5.5 GROUP DYNAMICS AND LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCEWithin my group I happened to be the lone female amongst three cats and i thought this ground will do them more active than one am but the contrary was the instance, this was the ground why in the beginning I had assorted feelings about working within a group, as it seemed everyone had a degree of understanding and this means it takes a superb one to be able to accomplish success. I had no pick at that point as we had a small group of 12 in the full selling communications, Masterss ‘ grade category, which made it truly obvious to be able to separate between the brilliant and dull pupils. Several times i was non happy wi th the groups i fall into, but with finding to stand out I normally face it, and i ne'er regretted my determinations as I ne'er failed a group work. Harmonizing to Moon ( 2004, p. 136 ) â€Å" when sing the university position on experiential acquisition and contemplation, it becomes evident, that the fact ‘that all instruction comes about through experience does non intend that all experiences are truly or every bit educative ‘ he besides argued that a differentiation needs to be made between what she footings ‘informal contemplation ‘ and ‘academic contemplation ‘ the latter being a formal procedure † . Walsh ( 2009 ) At a point during the group meetings i became so unhappy and one told other group members i was no longer interested in the work though this was non a true statement from my bosom, I was likely excessively disquieted, but with clip I was able to quiet myself down and get by even though things did non work out as planned On several occasions at that place existed misinterpretation and I personally found out that there was demand for these misinterpretation as it helps in traveling frontward most of the clip. Again many at times a member within the group was used to stating he works better under force per unit area and this did non travel good with me as Is do non work good under force per unit area, alternatively i do the opposite significance I program my clip and i appreciate clip direction and non fire brigade attack in transporting out my undertaking. Many times after a misinterpretation at that place exist duologue and apologies will be made by the necessary group members and so the undertaking continues, interestingly we tend to accomplish more at this clip. Another point worthy to observe at this clip is that working within a group gives a cognition about the office environment, where one will be working with other members of staff and if a undertaking is to be carried out, there will be no chance to take who to and who non to work with. Each clip one think of this I am encouraged to get by within any group I find myself and seek to corporate and have a good squad spirit. Contemplation so, in the words of Scott G S ( 2010 ) P 432 is the procedure or agencies by which an experience, in the signifier of idea, feeling, or action, is examined to condense its significance while it is go oning or later. Contemplation is fodder for self-regulation in an environment where what we define as utile and effectual behavior alterations continuously. With mention to the words of Scott ( 2010 ) I had different reactions to every state of affairs that I was faced with, ever believing back that I had a grade in a different educational scene and now a Masterss in Europe. At that point it was obvious something was non right as the first and 2nd feedback did non give a positive consequence, but something one held on to was the words given by the supervisors, which i pondered on, one went on to direct my piece of work to the coachs over the cyberspace, once more small betterment was made, it all became distressing but one ne'er give up. What happened following? I suggested we needed to run into a coach and get down afresh, interesting, we approached him and he was happy to take us aright, every group member attended this meeting and things began to alter. From the proposition, mark audience, scheme and really many utile advices was given. Most significantly we were told to include some theories of acquisition and contemplation to buttress some points, this period was a good precious one as it marked the beginning of a bend around. My function within the group was a really critical one as the other members do reach me to cognize what the following measure was, I was ever be called upon to split the undertaking and explicate what we did so far including the hereafter program. I enjoyed making this as I have ever seen myself as a magnetic leader, of class a leader by illustration.5.6 LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE PROJECTSWhen one negotiations of success narrative, that does non literarily intend the consequences for the thesis is out already but the fulfillment and the joy that comes to mind cognizing fundamentally that the group work and the single portion was done and submitted in due clip is worthy of note. Soon after the summer vacation started two of the four group members did go to their place state go forthing merely two people to cover with the work. Sincerely things went slow but at each clip a meeting was arranged and there was advancement at every meeting coupled with misinterpretations. On the eighth of June, we had a concluding group presentation with feedback, which marked the concluding twenty-four hours of the class, to our greatest surprise the proposition we have changed clip and clip once more, mark audience cleavage and the tag line began to pass on, it became obvious that the group was on path even though the existent presentation got lost in a missing flash thrust. The group was advised to make more research and understand the mark audience and what needs to be done to pass on the trade name ( Trident masticating gum ) is the scheme and execution. Throughout this same month and July communicating continued on-line as it became a spot hard to run into in the university since the library closed earlier than usual. Each portion of the run was dealt with strictly and the power point slides were put together so the study followed afterwards. Scott G. S ( 2010 ) p 433 was before quoted in the study where he noted that John Dewey is considered a cardinal conceiver of believing about contemplation. Dewey argued in his ain words that reflective persons have certain features, which includes open-mindedness, which illustrates the will power within an person to accept rational duty for one ‘s ain positions, heartiness this merely means, a willingness to face frights and uncertainnesss, and eventually enthusiasm. Contemplation is concerned with patterns and actions, particularly professional pattern in Fieldss such as school instruction ( Allen, 1992 ; Beyer, 1989 ; Collier, 1999 ) , nursing ( Burns & A ; Bulman, 2000 ) , societal work ( Fook, 1996 ) , and direction â€Å" communities of pattern † ( Welsh & A ; Dehler, 2004 ) . Reflection besides generates enquiry and a hunt for significance ; it provides the possible to see things in a manner they have non been understood earlier. More merely, brooding pattern contributes to larning. What I have learnt that will be everlastingly utile to me is the ability to dialogue, this a really of import instrument peculiarly in a group work scenario. Again it is good to listen to the leader as two wrongs can ne'er do a right, it is wholly unjust when squad members refuse to listen to the leader, and evidently things will non travel good. I have besides learnt that in the hereafter I understand clearly the footing of my undertaking before one kick off with work on it, as this delayed my group from traveling frontward during the presentation, as though we were traveling about within the same circle, before we got our precedences right. â€Å" The agencies of contemplation is most frequently dialogue through which subjective and nonsubjective experience is processed, questioned, and significance is made of it. Reflection through duologue demonstrates pupils ‘ larning through their ability to gestate what they have learned, the significance it has for their present and future, and the acknowledgment that they are neither the same individual as they were a few old ages antecedently nor should they anticipate to be a few old ages therefore. Baker, Jensen, and Kolb ( 2002 ) labelled this attack to larning â€Å" the wrong-side-out attack. † Scott G. S ( 2010 ) P 4335.7 DecisionIn reasoning this contemplation study it is interesting to observe that â€Å" acquisition can be considered as a procedure of debate in which thought, reflecting, sing and action are different facets of the same procedure † . It is besides a practical debate with oneself and in coaction with others that really forms the footi ng of larning. ( Pavlica et al. 1998: 145 ) in Corley A and Eades E ( 2004, P 138 ) During the reappraisal of literature it was noted harmonizing to Jeffrey D et Al. ( 2000 ) that contemplation is non an wholly new procedure and some authors trace it to the work of Socrates, they went on to depict contemplation â€Å" as a procedure of withdrawing from or stepping back from an experience and taking clip to intentionally and carefully reexamine it, believe about it and build significance from it, nevertheless contemplation is said to hold a past, present and future component. In this study the author has been able to reflect by and large about the past experience, looking through the beginning of the selling communications maestro ‘s grade foremost feeling, through to the present clip which has to make with the experience while composing up the thesis, it is besides interesting to observe that the author besides discussed briefly of future outlooks and larning from the past experience that can positively impact the hereafter work. Having reflected on my experience from first twenty-four hours of university up until the yearss of my concluding thesis, I will state Is have really enjoyed the full procedure. Meeting friends from other parts of the universe was a good thing to retrieve, with no exclusions of my coachs who were ever at that place, and willing to assist with whatever need we might hold during the class of survey. However one quit e agree with the thought of personal contemplations as it gives the chance to believe back and do damagess as required. This in bend will hold a positive consequence on an person.MentionsMiriam Catterall, Pauline Maclaran, and Lorna Stevens ( 2010 ) Critical Reflection in the Marketing Curriculum Journal of Marketing Education, Vol. 24 No. 3, December 2002 184-192 Scott. G Susanne ( 2010 ) Enhancing Reflection Skills through Learning Portfolios: An Empirical Test. Journal of Management Education 34 ( 3 ) 430-457. The Author ( s ) , hypertext transfer protocol: //www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Fuguan Tan ( 2009 ) Tri-fold Transformation: An International Adult Student ‘s Contemplations on Online Learning. Walker E. S ( 2006 ) . Journal Writing as a Teaching Technique to Promote Reflection Journal of Athletic Training Vol. 41, No 2 p216-221 Klenowski Val and Lunt Ingrid ( 2008 ) Enhancing larning at doctorial degree through the usage of contemplation. Taylor & A ; Francis Walsh Anita ( 2009 ) Modes of Reflection: Is it possible to utilize both single and corporate contemplation to accommodate the ‘three-party cognition involvements ‘ in workplace acquisition? European Journal of Education, Vol. 44, No. 3, 2009, Part I _1389 385 Aileen Corley and Elaine Eades ( 2004 ) ‘Becoming ‘ critically brooding practicians: faculty members ‘ and pupils ‘ contemplations on the issues involved. Pp. 137-144. Human Resource Development International, Taylor and Francis Limited Horton-Deutsch Sarah and Sherwood Gwen ( 2008 ) Contemplation: an educational scheme to develop emotionally- competent nurse leaders. Journal of Nursing Management, 16, 946-954 Doyle, Wendy ; Young, Jeffrey D ( 2000 ) .Managing Development: Making the most Experience and Reflection. Fall2000, Vol. 25 Issue 3, p18 Marianne new wave Woerkom, ( 2010 ) Advances in Developing Human Resouces. The Concept of Critical Reflection and Its Deductions for Human Resource Development Advances in Developing Human Resources Vol. 6, No. 2 p 178-192

Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Example

Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Example Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Lowering the United States Drinking Age Essay Three quarters of the world has a drinking age below 21, that’s about 5 billion people that can legally drink under the age of 21. Although some people think that keeping the legal drinking age at 21, The United States Government should lower it to 18 because the majority of teens still consume alcohol anyways, teens would be more likely to drink in a safe environment, and it would benefit for the economy. The majority of American teenagers under 21 still consume alcohol on a regular basis, despite the legal drinking age of 21. As kids get older, they drink more.   By age 15, half of teens have had at least one drink. By age 18, more than 70% of teens have had at least one drink [3].By making it illegal to drink under the age of 21, the United States is wasting more time and money on a problem that will never be solved.According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2009, about 10.4 million young people between ages 12 and 20 drank more than â€Å"ju st a few sips† of alcohol [3].With this ongoing problem, the United States should comply with the people and lower the drinking age to 18. Allowing people under the age of 21 to consume alcohol would result in a more regulated drinking environment. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which changed the national legal alcohol purchase and consumption age to 21[7].This was a federal law, and states could chose to comply or not to, but if they didn’t comply, the federal government would cut the funding of national highways. Young teenagers are more hesitant to call the police or emergency services if they have been drinking.With this being said, if someone under the age of 21 has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol, and has symptoms of alcohol poisoning, they would be more encouraged to call for medical services if the legal drinking age was somewhere closer to their age. When 18 to 20 years old are restricted from drinking

Violencia domstica - Recursos para inmigrantes

Violencia domstica - Recursos para inmigrantes En Estados Unidos, la violencia domà ©stica es un delito. Y la ley protege, ampara y ofrece recursos para los inmigrantes que son và ­ctimas de este crimen, cualquiera que sea su estatus legal: residentes permanentes, personas con visas temporales, visitantes e indocumentados. Al mismo tiempo, castiga a las personas condenadas por este tipo de conducta. Aunque la mayorà ­a de las và ­ctimas son mujeres y nià ±os, tambià ©n pueden serlo los hombres. En el caso de violencia domà ©stica en el seno de una pareja, no es necesario que està © legalmente casada para considerar que existe este delito: basta con compartir vivienda o que tengan una relacià ³n sentimental. Quà © es la violencia domà ©stica Si la và ­ctima es una persona adulta, para que exista este delito en el mbito familiar debe producirse una situacià ³n en la que uno de los miembros de la pareja causa repetidamente daà ±o fà ­sico o emocional a su compaà ±ero o compaà ±era. Adems, es suficiente para que se considere que hay delito si hay un patrà ³n de comportamiento de amenazar a la otra persona con causarle daà ±o. Asà ­, es violencia domà ©stica pegar a la pareja, obligarla a tener relaciones sexuales de cualquier tipo, humillarla, intimidarla o manipularla emocionalmente, aislarla de su familia o amigos y amenazarla con perjudicarla econà ³micamente o causarle daà ±o por razà ³n de su estatus migratorio. Es importante recordar que, a diferencia de lo que puede ocurrir en otros paà ­ses, en Estados Unidos es un delito obligar a otra persona a realizar cualquier acto de naturaleza sexual sin su consentimiento, incluso cuando esa situacià ³n sucede entre esposos. Se considera como un asalto sexual y, por lo tanto, es un crimen.   Los nià ±os tambià ©n pueden ser và ­ctimas de violencia domà ©stica. Esto ocurre cuando se les causa un daà ±o fà ­sico sin ser accidentalmente. Tambià ©n se comete este delito cuando se abusa sexualmente de un menor o cuando las personas responsables de su bienestar no le dan alimento, cuidados mà ©dicos o cobijo. Incluso cuando no se les cuida y supervisa adecuadamente, se abusa psicolà ³gicamente de ellos mediante amenazas y, tambià ©n, cuando se les niega un mà ­nimo de carià ±o. Quà © hacer si se sufre violencia domà ©stica Los Estados Unidos protege civil y criminalmente a las và ­ctimas de violencia domà ©stica cualquiera que sea su raza, religià ³n, grupo à ©tnico, nacionalidad e, incluso, estatus migratorio. Si alguien est en peligro o cree que puede estarlo, la primera media a tomar es llamar a la policà ­a al 911. Los agentes acudirn y tomarn las medidas inmediatas que consideren oportunas. Hay que recordar que cualquier persona puede poner una denuncia con la policà ­a. No hay que ser ciudadano ni residente. Pero es muy importante contar desde el principio con asesorà ­a legal. Tambià ©n cualquier persona puede buscar proteccià ³n ante la Corte para pedir una orden de alejamiento contra el abusador. Si à ©ste a su vez hace una acusacià ³n contra la và ­ctima, à ©sta tiene derecho a un abogado y a no realizar ninguna declaracià ³n que, con el tiempo, pudiera perjudicarle. Si este es el caso conviene hablar con un abogado especialista en criminal y tambià ©n es buena idea hablar con un abogado de inmigracià ³n. Ayuda disponible para TODAS las và ­ctimas de violencia Todas las personas que viven en EEUU, cualquiera que sea su estatus legal, pueden marcar a los siguientes nà ºmeros de telà ©fonos gratuitos a cualquier hora del dà ­a o de la noche y cualquier dà ­a de la semana, incluyendo sbados y domingos a: Là ­nea abierta nacional contra la violencia domà ©stica: 1-800-799-7233Là ­nea abierta de la red nacional contra el asalto sexual, violacià ³n, abuso e incesto (RAINN, por sus siglas en inglà ©s): 1-800-656-4673Centro nacional de nià ±os desaparecidos y explotados: 1-800-843-5678Centro nacional para và ­ctimas de crà ­menes: 1-800-394-2255Los mexicanos pueden marcar gratuitamente al telà ©fono del CIAM donde recibirn informacià ³n y ayuda. Estas organizaciones cuentan con intà ©rpretes en varios idiomas y pueden ofrecer informacià ³n y dar un contacto local para que las và ­ctimas puedan recibir ayuda. Las và ­ctimas pueden ser mujeres pero tambià ©n varones. Y la situacià ³n de violencia domà ©stica puede darse en una situacià ³n de parejas heterosexuales o tambià ©n entre dos hombres o dos mujeres. Esto no importa. Es tambià ©n un delito. Los servicios gratuitos que se pueden llegar a ofrecer a las và ­ctimas incluyen atencià ³n mà ©dica, vivienda de emergencia, apoyo psicolà ³gico, servicio de intà ©rpretes, asistencia legal, incluso abogado gratuito o pagando una cantidad reducida de dinero y, si fuera necesario, ayuda econà ³mica. Violencia domà ©stica e inmigracià ³n Las và ­ctimas de violencia domà ©stica pueden solicitar la legalizacià ³n migratoria para sà ­ mismas y para sus hijos solicitando la cancelacià ³n de la deportacià ³n: Pidiendo acogerse a los beneficios de la Ley de Violencia contra las Mujeres (VAWA)o solicitando una visa U  o una visa T, si se ha sido và ­ctima de trfico de blancas.El programa SIJS para menores de 21 aà ±os và ­ctimas de abusos, maltratos y negligencias. Todas las peticiones son confidenciales. Adems,   ms all de la violencia domà ©stica es conveniente saber quà © es el asalto sexual. Quà © sucede con los victimarios Las personas condenadas por violencia domà ©stica pueden pueden ser castigadas de distintas maneras, incluido el envà ­o a prisià ³n. Adems, si el culpable no es ciudadano puede arruinar sus posibilidades de obtener beneficios migratorios e incluso puede ser deportado. Este artà ­culo es meramente informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal para ningà ºn caso concreto.

The Formation of Planet Earth

The Formation of Planet Earth The formation and evolution of planet Earth is a scientific detective story that has taken astronomers and planetary scientists a lot of research to figure out. Understanding our worlds formation process not only gives new insight into its structure and formation, but it also opens new windows of insight into the creation of planets around other stars.   The Story Begins Long Before Earth Existed Earth was not around at the beginning of the universe. In fact, very little of what we see in the cosmos today was around when the universe formed some 13.8 billion years ago. However, to get to Earth, its important to start at the beginning, when the universe was young. It all started out with only two elements: hydrogen and helium, and a small trace of lithium. The first stars formed out of the hydrogen that existed. Once that process started,  generations of stars were born in clouds of gas. As they aged, those stars created heavier elements in their cores, elements such as oxygen, silicon, iron, and others. When the first generations of stars died, they scattered those elements to space, which seeded the next generation of stars. Around some of those stars, the heavier elements formed planets. The Birth of the Solar System Gets a Kick-start Some five billion years ago, in a perfectly ordinary place in the galaxy, something happened. It might have been a supernova explosion pushing a lot of its heavy-element wreckage into a nearby cloud of hydrogen gas and interstellar dust. Or, it could have been the action of a passing star stirring up the cloud into a swirling mixture. Whatever the kick-start was, it pushed the cloud into action which eventually resulted in the birth of the solar system. The mixture grew hot and compressed under its own gravity. At its center, a protostellar object formed. It was young, hot, and glowing, but not yet a full star. Around it swirled a disk of the same material, which grew hotter and hotter as gravity and motion compressed the dust and rocks of the cloud together. The hot young protostar eventually turned on and began to fuse hydrogen to helium in its core. The Sun was born. The swirling hot disk was the cradle where Earth and its sister planets formed. It wasnt the first time such a planetary system was formed. In fact, astronomers can see just this sort of thing happening elsewhere in the universe. While the Sun grew in size and energy, beginning to ignite its nuclear fires, the hot disk slowly cooled. This took millions of years. During that time, the components of the disk began to freeze out into small dust-sized grains. Iron metal and compounds of silicon, magnesium, aluminum, and oxygen came out first in that fiery setting. Bits of these are preserved in chondrite meteorites, which are ancient materials from the solar nebula. Slowly these grains settled together and collected into clumps, then chunks, then boulders, and finally bodies called planetesimals large enough to exert their own gravity.   Earth Is Born in Fiery Collisions As time went by, planetesimals collided with other bodies and grew larger. As they did, the energy of each collision was tremendous. By the time they reached a hundred kilometers or so in size, planetesimal collisions were energetic enough to  melt and vaporize  much of the material involved. The rocks, iron, and other metals in these colliding worlds sorted themselves into layers. The dense iron settled in the center and the lighter rock separated into a mantle around the iron, in a miniature of Earth and the other inner planets today. Planetary scientists call this settling process  differentiation.  It didnt just happen with planets, but also occurred within the larger moons and  the largest asteroids. The iron meteorites that plunge to Earth from time to time come from collisions between these asteroids in the distant past.   At some point during this time, the Sun ignited. Although the Sun was only about two-thirds as bright as it is today, the process of ignition (the so-called T-Tauri phase) was energetic enough to blow away most of the gaseous part of the protoplanetary disk. The chunks, boulders, and planetesimals left behind continued to collect into a handful of large, stable bodies in well-spaced orbits. Earth was the third one of these, counting outward from the Sun. The process of accumulation and collision was violent and spectacular because the smaller pieces left huge craters on the larger ones. Studies of the other planets show  these impacts and the evidence is strong that they contributed to catastrophic conditions on the infant Earth.   At one point early in this process a very large planetesimal struck Earth an off-center blow and sprayed much of the young Earths rocky mantle into space. The planet got most of it back after a period of time, but some of it collected into a second planetesimal circling Earth. Those leftovers are thought to have been part of the Moons formation story. Volcanoes, Mountains, Tectonic Plates, and an Evolving Earth The oldest surviving rocks on Earth were laid down some five hundred million years after the planet first formed. It ​and other planets suffered through whats called the late heavy bombardment of the last stray planetesimals around four billion years ago). The ancient rocks have been dated by the uranium-lead method  and appear to be about 4.03 billion years old. Their mineral content and embedded gases show that there were volcanoes, continents, mountain ranges, oceans, and crustal plates on Earth in those days. Some slightly younger rocks (about 3.8 billion years old) show tantalizing evidence of life on the young planet. While the eons that followed were full of strange stories and far-reaching changes, by the time the first life did appear, Earths structure was well-formed and only its primordial atmosphere was being changed by the onset of life. The stage was set for the formation and spread of tiny microbes across the planet. Their evolution ultimately resulted in the modern life-bearing world still filled with mountains, oceans, and volcanoes that we know today.  Its a world that is constantly changing, with regions where continents are pulling apart and other places where new land is being formed. These actions affect not just the planet, but life on it. The evidence for the story of Earths formation and evolution is the result of patient evidence-collecting from meteorites and studies of the geology of the other planets. It also comes from analyses of very large bodies of geochemical data, astronomical studies of planet-forming regions around other stars, and decades of serious discussion among astronomers, geologists, planetary scientists, chemists, and biologists. The story of Earth is one of the most fascinating and complex scientific stories around, with plenty of evidence and understanding to back it up.   Updated and rewritten by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Analysis of previously gathered individual presentation data Statistics Project

Analysis of previously gathered individual presentation data - Statistics Project Example Part of the test statistics were to compare the performance of females versus males, the correlations amongst different types of presentation. Another test of interest was to ascertain whether the score in body language and voice of presenters displayed a difference in their mean. Generally, with regard to the performance of presenters in scope and Research of presentation, there was no much difference as displayed in Figure 2. However, female presenters registered poor performance (below a score of 2) in the scope presentation. From Table 1 and Figure 3, mean scores for presentation with regard to body language, visual aids and timing parameters were 6.8, 7.1 and 7.1 respectively across gender. There were little deviations from the mean performance across the board with the highest deviation from the mean being 1.62 for the â€Å"timing† parameter. As an assessor, I registered a mean score of 6.22 on body language and 6.45, my highest mean score, on the scope of presentation. My minimum score and maximum score, as reveled in table 2 and Figure 4, on scope and research were 4 and 8 respectively. Looking at Figure 5, my performance as a presenter was not that good compared to my performance as an assessor. This because I only scored 8 points, a presenter, on the scope of presentation compared to as an assessor where I scored 8 points on several occasions: both in scope and research. With regard to the different presentations, representation on technical literature review was on the lead with 58%. It was followed closely by presentation on international business at 41%. The least presentation was on any other test presentation that come a distance at 1%. Borrowing from Boslaugh (2012), we needed to test whether there was mean difference between body language (coded as sample b) and voice (coded as sample v) across gender. As such, we needed to formulate our

Market Solution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Market Solution - Essay Example The morale of employees is the least in the organization because of the huge scrutiny and investigation by the investment companies, especially the media, public, and most prominently Wall Street. Furthermore, the customer confidence in Classic Airlines is decreasing along with the Rewards program, which saw a nineteen percent reduction in Classic Rewards members and also a twenty one percent reduction in the flights per each member. The rising costs of labor and fuel have jeopardized the success of Classic Airlines as it is unable to compete for the most efficient valued numerous flier miles. The aftermath of 9/11 has led Classic Airlines to see a restrained structure of costs unlike the younger airline companies. Adding to the problems is a fifteen percent decline in the board cost over a period of eighteen months (Classic Airlines, 2007). Most of the best opportunities are a result of dilemmas. Such is the case of Classic Airlines. It has the power to change its problems into profitable opportunities via meticulous changes to the whole scenario; therefore the situation is handled carefully. Classic Airlines should keep in mind all the travelers who need a higher level of personal service as compared to the ones they might expect to get from competitors. The customers can greatly help the airlines to enhance the confidence of the general public. This can easily be done without letting additional costs come in the path of Classic Airlines. Contended customers are the best type of advertisement for each and every organization and is also a base to gain attention of the new customers (Classic Airlines, 2007). Classic Airlines should look into the aspect of refurbishing their Classic Rewards Program by coming into partnership with an airline company to enhance the experience of customers on flight. Such a trail would improve the frequent flyer mile partnership and also the opportunities for purchase, which would then make Classic

Personal masters learning and development Essay - 1

Personal masters learning and development - Essay Example Nevertheless, I did log on to the website on my friend’s recommendation and browsed through the different pages. I was particularly keen to know how the course would help me further my goals in life. I was amazed to see my friend mature into a balanced individual with his own thoughts and perceptions. Academically he had achieved certain heights and he had developed social skills as well. I too am a good communicator and perhaps this University would help me develop my skills further. I browed through the different courses and modules on offer, and well it did frighten me a little initially. I was not too sure whether I could handle it but then, being an optimist, I decided to take up the challenge. To do something in life one has to take certain amount of risks. Moreover, higher the risk, higher the returns, is what we have heard. Besides, the economic downturn has impact all nations and one has to invest in education. This is the right time to do so, I felt. I browsed through some other University sites also but since I had very strong recommendations for this University, I decided to enroll myself here. What particularly impressed me about the University was that it had stude nts from a wide range of backgrounds. This meant that I could interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures, so essential for global management and international management today. Studying a Masters Degree is the only route to an established career. I too realized this and since I had set high goals for myself in the field of management, I knew a Masters Degree was essential. My objective in pursuing a Master’s Degree is to obtain a full time position in the field of accounting that uses my technical, analytical and interpersonal skills, with an employer that provides a challenging work environment and opportunities for advancement. I have done my undergraduate studies in the field of accounting and have practical experience working with several contracting

Urban Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Urban Health - Essay Example o establish the causes of child obesity and the best ways the local authorities in the region and the many health practitioners can best deal with the rising cases of child obesity. As stated in the brief introduction, obesity is a lifestyle complication a feature that validates the investigation of the social structure of the society and the roles the planning of the city and the coordination of the activities of the state authorities can help mitigate such as the report below reveals. The borough has various public and private health facilities that strive to improve the health status of the borough. The NHS Lambeth works effectively with the various partners including both the private sectors and many other non-governmental organizations with the view of improving the living standards in the region and curb the rising lifestyle complications including child obesity (Spence, 1975). The NHS for example prioritizes healthy lifestyle practices in a bid to help change the social structure in the region. The government in conjunction with the local authorities has improved the quality of health services providers by the various service providers in the region through the provision of incentives and the sensitization of the importance healthy living. The research revealed that the government of England carries out various activities in the borough with the view of curbing the lower life expectancy in the region since most deaths result from lifestyle related complicati ons. Child obesity is medical condition in which children gain excess body weight. The disease has various causes including genetics and poor lifestyle, which is the main cause. Health practitioners have developed the term obesogenic environment to refer to a combination of factors that create a conducive environment for the prevalence of obesity in both children and adults. Most children with obese parents are likely to become obese. Researchers indicate that such may not arise from the genes but from

Final EX Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final EX - Assignment Example This situation calls for apt disaster recovery plans and strategies to ensure personal safety during the incidents and return to normalcy. In the case of business recovery, the businesses should embrace technological functions, which offer back up services through the Disaster Backup Recovery Site. This will enable quick and safe recovery of critical information that relates to the business functionality. On the other hand, for personal safety, the firms are required to embrace, the services of the Emergency Operations Center. Seeking refuge from this center does not only assures personal safety but also the firms’ physical property that may be in a position of rescue. Physical security refers to the need to protect the physical assets of an organization. In some organizations, one senior officer is responsible for both physical and logical (workstation, network, system/application, and other domains) of security. In other organizations, physical and logical security are divided between at least two senior officers. (See http://www.csoonline.com/article/742317/the-emerging-turf-battle-between-information-and-physicalsecurity-pros?source=CSONLE_nlt_update_2013-10-31 for one take on the topic.) What do you see as the pros and cons of having an integrated organizational structure, responsible for both physical and logical security? (A paragraph plus bullets for pros and cons would be appropriate here.) An integrated security system of physical and logical security of a firm refers to the a system that protects the physical assets of an organization and the intangible assets, which is majorly the company’s data and information. This system keeps watch of both aspects of the company. There is a big problem of the system to be compatible to the both physical and logical security and this leaves a security gap, which might cause great losses

Gun control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Gun control - Research Paper Example Many cases of gun related crimes and fatalities have been reported within the country which indicates that public access to guns may be more harmful that beneficial. In this way, the society should understand the important of gun control laws and limiting access to citizens that access guns while addressing arguments opposing them as a way of saving lives. Gun violence is a common phenomenon in the American society and the National Victimization Survey showed that 467, 321 people died in 2011 as a result of criminal activities using firearms. The FBI generated a report in 2011 that testified that 68% of homicides and 41% of violent robberies as well as 21% of aggravated attacks are done using guns. In addition, hand guns are the most common firearms that are used in criminal activities especially homicides committed each year. This research shows that gun violent is a reality within the society and many people use them to intimidate victims. It is also clear that most hand guns are involved in criminal activities like assault, in various threats that are done without injury, and in many cases of rape or robbery (Zimring 723). Gun ownership is another apparent issue in the United States with findings showing that more than 200 million firearms were in private ownership in the 1990s. Through the years guns among private ownership have increased especially due to creation of new households and more wealthy people who needed to acquire firearms. In other areas, the increasing crime rates within the country motivated citizens who initially did not have guns to acquire them in a bid to seek protection. It is evident however that the reason that people own guns is more related to crime rates compared to having more wealth. Nonetheless, it is also evident that many firearms, specifically the long guns are acquired for recreational activities like hunting which is not related to

Final EX Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final EX - Assignment Example This situation calls for apt disaster recovery plans and strategies to ensure personal safety during the incidents and return to normalcy. In the case of business recovery, the businesses should embrace technological functions, which offer back up services through the Disaster Backup Recovery Site. This will enable quick and safe recovery of critical information that relates to the business functionality. On the other hand, for personal safety, the firms are required to embrace, the services of the Emergency Operations Center. Seeking refuge from this center does not only assures personal safety but also the firms’ physical property that may be in a position of rescue. Physical security refers to the need to protect the physical assets of an organization. In some organizations, one senior officer is responsible for both physical and logical (workstation, network, system/application, and other domains) of security. In other organizations, physical and logical security are divided between at least two senior officers. (See http://www.csoonline.com/article/742317/the-emerging-turf-battle-between-information-and-physicalsecurity-pros?source=CSONLE_nlt_update_2013-10-31 for one take on the topic.) What do you see as the pros and cons of having an integrated organizational structure, responsible for both physical and logical security? (A paragraph plus bullets for pros and cons would be appropriate here.) An integrated security system of physical and logical security of a firm refers to the a system that protects the physical assets of an organization and the intangible assets, which is majorly the company’s data and information. This system keeps watch of both aspects of the company. There is a big problem of the system to be compatible to the both physical and logical security and this leaves a security gap, which might cause great losses

To my unapproachable husband, Don Juan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

To my unapproachable husband, Don Juan - Essay Example Can it be that you have deceived me with false promises Looking back on our relationship, I wonder how I could be so innocent as to believe you would always be faithful. I have been told of your transgressions and as much as I want to dismiss the frivolous gossip, I cannot completely do so without your returning to me and putting the lie to these words (33). My servant Gusman has tried to ease my pain but even as he speaks he confirms your infidelity. How could I be so blind to your coldness (33, 41) Why have you left me Why can you not face me and defend yourself Let it be known that I can give you any number of excuses and can place the words on your tongue that would convince me that what I have been told is merely hearsay and not your true actions. I will continue to pursue you and when we meet once more, I would ask you to say the words I wish to hear. I ask only that you explain yourself, that you tell me you adore me and that nothing but death can tear us apart. I need to hear you convince me that urgent business called you away, and nothing less than that would separate us. Please make it known that you will return to me as soon as you can and that you live with the thought of being with me once more. Your honeyed words brought me into our nuptial bed, but now you would seem to be without the language of love, more tongue-tied than smooth in speech (41-42). I must tell you, t I must tell you, though it breaks my heart to say it, that my brothers are on a quest to find you and to kill you (69; Fort & Kates 47)). As heart-sore as I am at your leaving me, I do not wish to see you dead. It is my hope that Gusman can deliver this letter at least to your manservant so that you will be warned of danger. Gusman has told me that my devotion to you might be met with poor return should I find you. He has tried to convince me to stay at home, but I have not chosen to listen. Surely, you would not wrong me in this way. Do the holy bonds of matrimony have no meaning to you-you, to whom the sacred doors of the convent were no barrier (34; Fort & Kates 47). Sganarelle, your loyal servant, has called you a scoundrel. Can that truly be At our last meeting, you neglected to clear my mind of doubt, and it was I who invented a hundred good reasons for your sudden departure. Should you, at the very least, choose to answer this letter, you can swear your heart is unchanged and you still adore me. You can tell me how sad you are that business keeps you from returning home for some time, and if I simply return home quietly, you will follow me as soon as your affairs will allow it. If you cannot face me and say these words, at least in a letter they would soothe my pain. The stories I have heard about your infidelity are difficult to accept, and you could so quickly put my doubts to rest. There is talk of a peasant girl, in fact more than one peasant girl, with whom you have dallied (49; Gethner, para. 9). Tell me it is not so. If you can but convince me of fidelity and love, I will erase all of the accusations I am making against you and will love you forever. I have spoken with your father, and he assures me though you have sinned in the past, you have seen the error of your ways, and it is my strongest desire that since our marriage, you have been loyal to me. With hope for our future.

Going global means new frontiers Essay Example for Free

Going global means new frontiers Essay Introduction On the 19th Sep. 2014, the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO) was successfully completed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), U.S., and the total IPO amount has reached up to $25 billion (Chen. Mac. Solomon. 2014). Alibaba, the miracle creator, used only 15-year’s development to take the seat in the Wall Street and build an e-commercial empire. The NYSE’s IPO is the signal to tell global investors and competitors that Alibaba is ready to join the global market competition. For Alibaba, going global means new frontier, however, the new frontier could be either a barren cliff or cornucopian grassland. In this essay, we will mainly discuss that why Alibaba want to expand global markets, and how Alibaba is going to make the global strategies to against global competitors in overseas market. by avoiding direct competition, targeting similar market as China and increasing firm size in the global market environment to step into a â€Å"grassland† market for persistent development. Alibaba the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company, was established in 1999 by the group of 18 people led by Jack Ma in Hangzhou, China. There are three main sites in Alibaba China, including T-mall, Taobao and Alibaba.com along with numbers of other companies to support Alibaba’s ecosystem development. Moreover, Alibaba also has Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com to provide worldwide online shopping services (Pressman 2014). Until 2013, Alibaba has more than 2 million merchants across more than 190 countries and regions. In 2013, there was amount of $248 billion transactions went through Alibaba’s online sites which is more than the total of eBay and Amazon. Furthermore, after the NYSE’s IPO, Alibaba’s market cap has reached up to 215 billion dollar, which only followed behind Microsoft, Google and Apple among the global tech firms (Lajoie Shearman. 2014). Global Market Expansion (convention path: from domestic to overseas) Why Alibaba want to expand global market?  Alibaba is a typical Multi-national corporation, since Alibaba set up the headquarter in the China and operate e-commerce businesses in other  countries. in As a typical multi-national corporation, going global to exploit new distant market, to merge into larger and more efficient units and to exploit better social capital is an irresistible process for Alibaba. As the dominator in the China’s online shopping market, Alibaba has already controlled 80% of the market share, thus Alibaba needs new distant markets for persistent development. Moreover, For Alibaba, both the internal capabilities and external environment allows Alibaba to make the global market expansion decision. For the internal capabilities, Alibaba is a mature Internet corporation, which has controlled 80% of the China’s online shopping market. China’s market profits could constantly provide enormous capital support for Alibaba’s long-term market expansion. Moreover, after the NYSE’s IPO, Alibaba has won the trust from global investors and acquired sufficient capital for early market expansion. However, the challenges always exist during the process of the market expansion, especially from the local e-commercial corporations. Despite of the competition, high cost for setting up facilities, cultural shock, and different government policies would also be main concerns before the decision was made. Thus, I have listed three main strategies below to demonstrate Alibaba’s global market expansion. Avoiding direct competition Instead of â€Å"face to face† competition with those locally dominant e-commercial corporations, Alibaba decided to operate their business around the market edges and move partial of e-commercial businesses to cross-country trade. In 2004, The America’s largest e-commercial corporationeBay entered the Chinese market by merger with a Chinese e-commercial corporation—EachNet. In order to against eBay, Alibaba decided to launch Taobao, one of the main sites under Alibaba for C2C (customer to customer) business model, compete with eBay. Because of Taobao’s preponderant business model and domestic advantages, eBay finally failed in China’s e-commercial market expansion (Wang, 2010). Right now, Alibaba faced the same challenge in the America’s market, but Alibaba will not make the same mistake as eBay did. In order to avoid direct competition with eBay and Amazon, Alibaba has launched AliExpress for cross-country trade wholesale by offering quality products at factory prices. As the advantages, Chinese  products have unbeatable prices to attract American customers; also Chinese customers have strong demands for American high quality products (like Cherry Farmers and Fisherman). Although it’s too earlier to claim the final result of Alibaba, to avoid direct competition is always a good way to enter a new market without too much pressure from local competitors. Finding similar market as China Alibaba’s global strategies are more likely targeting the large and potential e-commercial market as China’s market. For instance, Brazil, as one of the largest developing economy in the world, the economy status and e-commercial structure in Brazil is really similar as in China. ALthough, eBay and Amazon has already settled down in the Brazil’s market, it’s always not too late for Alibaba overtakes the dominance. In 2013, Alibaba set up a Portuguese e-commerce site to allow Brazil buyers directly purchase goods from Chinese wholesalers. Just in a year, Alibaba has became the third largest e-commercial website and took 20% of market share after Ebay and Amazon. In this July 12 millions of Brazilian customers visited the Alibaba.com, which is ten times than last year (Sciaudone, 2014). Moreover, in Brazil’s market, Alibaba wisely used the local sub-contractor to reduce investment and improve service quality, which subcontracted the online payment services to Boleto and delivery services to Brazil’s state-owned postal service (Pressman, 2014). To make it even better, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Chinese President Xi Jingping have signed the agreement to open the â€Å"Green Channel† to support Alibaba’s business between two countries (Chao, 2014). All in all, the success in the Brazil’s market indicated that to find the similar market is a feasible strategy for future development. Increasing the firm size As a typical multi-national corporation, Alibaba effectively applied the law of increasing firm size, ‘which have rapidly growth in the representative size of the firm, culminating in the MNC, and the parallel growth in organizational complexity’ (Hymer, 1970). E-commercial is the fundamental business for Alibaba’s long-term development, but not the only business Alibaba does or will do. As the range of investments show below, Alibaba  made plenty of investments in smart phone, video websites, telecommunication and so on. Some of them are complement businesses to support Alibaba’s e-commercial, like Juhuasuan, Alipay and Alibaba pictures; and some of them are potential businesses for long-term development, like Kabam, Peel, and Tango. Like Jack Ma has said in the Stanford Business School’s presentation, Alibaba would always follow the market’s path, where is the market, where is the Alibaba. Alibaba believed those investments are the future market and opportunities. On the global market expansion, Alibaba’s strategy is to pursue dynamic, diversified, sustaining development. Impacts on global market and host region With the development of Alibaba, the global e-commerce businesses will absolutely more competitive than before. There will be more and more cheaper and quality products flow into global market from China. Other e-commercial corporations, like eBay and Amazon, have to find the way out to against Alibaba’s expansion. On the other hand, Alibaba’s global market expansion will provide more opportunities and channels for China’s manufactories and factories to enter into a larger market. As Alibaba’s mission said, ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere.’ Alibaba help China’s merchants to do business much easier and more efficient. Conclusion It is indeed that Alibaba made a great success in 15-year development, but some concerns still exist from investors. Some investors even thought it’s possible that Alibaba is too big to be expropriated by Chinese government (Crovitz, 2014). However, It’s a totally misunderstanding, Chinese government always encourage and support China’s corporations to exploit overseas market and welcome foreign investment. Furthermore, investors also consider the instability to an Internet company. Unlike other industries, such as auto or manufacture industry, Internet Company is highly volatile. Internet Company could create billions of fortunes overnight, but also could lose everything instantly. In this case, it’s a significant mission for Alibaba to keep investors’ trust and faith. Up to now, Alibaba’s steady-state growth and expansion is the best response to investors’ trust and support. For 15-year development, Alibaba completely followed the conventional path from serve domestic market to operate businesses overseas. Eventually, Alibaba has successfully built an e-commercial businesses bridge between China and overseas market. Alibaba will continue to grow, and it will continue to change China and change the world. As William Kirby, and expert on Chinese business in Harvard’s business school, demonstrated that Alibaba is ‘a private company that has done more for China’s national economy than most state-owned enterprises (Economist, 2013).’ References Chen, Liyan; Mac, Ryan; Solomon Brian. Alibaba Claims Title For Largest Global IPO Ever With Extra Share Sales. Forbes. Web. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/09/22/alibaba-claims-title-for-largest-global-ipo-ever-with-extra-share-sales/ [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Crovit, Gordon L. 2014. Alibaba: Too Big to Expropriate? The Wall Street Journal. Web. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/articles/gordon-crovitz-alibaba-too-big-to-expropriate-1411339239 [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Hymer, Stephen. 1970. Lecture notes distributed in Global Business Environment at The University of Birmingham U.K. on November 2014. INC. 2014. How Alibabas Jack Ma Conquered China. INC. Video. Web. Available from: http://www.inc.com/jack-ma/alibaba-jack-ma-reveals-his-global-strategy.html [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Osawa, Juro. Alibaba Isn’t the Amazon of China. The Wall Street Journal. Web. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/10/16/alibaba-isnt-the-amazon-of-china/ [Accessed on: 15/11/2014] Pressman, Aaron. Alibaba a threat to eBay, Amazon outside the U.S., not within. Yahoo Finance. Web. Available from: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-aims-at-ebay-and-amazon-outside-of-the-united-states-173757037.html [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Sciaudone, Christiana. 2014. Alibaba in Brazil Challenges EBay-Amazon Market Grip. Bloomberg. Web. Available from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-05/alibaba-in-brazil-challenges-ebay-amazon-market-grip.html [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Shearman, Nick; Lajoie, Marc. 2014. What is Alibaba?. The Wall Street Journal. Web. Available from: http://projects.wsj.com/alibaba/ [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] The Economist. 2013. The World’s greatest bazaar. The Economist. Web. Available from: http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21573980-alibaba-trailblazing-chinese-internet-giant-will-soon-go-public-worlds-greatest-bazaar [Accessed on: 20/11/2014] Wang, Helen H. 2010. How eBay Failed in China. Forbes. Web. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/china/2010/09/12/how-ebay-failed-in-china/ [Accessed on: 20/11/2014] http://www.cnbc.com/id/102008330#.

Marketing Strategies of Primark

Marketing Strategies of Primark 1.0 Introduction The research report under consideration is aimed to explore the significant role played by Marketing Strategies in todays modern and dynamic business environment. Marketing has gained substantial importance and has become first priority of decision makers in any organisation. This document presents a research report analyzing and forecasting marketing environment faced by leading retailer Primark with special focus on competitive analysis. Primark Stores Ltd, an Irish upstart and subsidiary of Associated British Foods, is second largest clothing retailer in terms of sales and revenue with its existence mainly in Ireland, UK, Spain and expanding further in the Europe. It is believed that soon it will become leading clothing retailer. This extensive research is aimed at exploring current marketing strategies adopted and evaluating their effectiveness. The critical review of current segmentation, targeting, positioning and branding strategies of Primark and an extensive market analysis is carried out to suggest future marketing strategies and growth areas and to improve and sustain quality of services provided. The expected outcomes of document are recommendations to use marketing strategies tactically in decision making to enjoy sustainable growth. 1.1 Reason for choosing the topic I have selected this topic realizing the fact that in todays intensively competitive business environment, financial successof any company depends on combined efforts of its financial strategy and marketing strategy. In fact, only those companies thrive in business who works closely with their customers; and, marketing has become a successful tool to create a relation with customers indirectly. From small to large, every organisation is realizing that effective marketing strategies can add value and exert tremendous influence over their ability to attract customers, leaving positive impact on companys performance and profitability. â€Å"Marketing is defined as management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. It involves integrated analysis, planning and control of marking mix variables (Product, Price, Promotion and Distribution) to satisfy both individuals and organizations objectives (Lancaster and Massingham, 1999). Marketing Environment consists of actors; and forces outside that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers (For further information on Marketing Environment, see Appendix I). 1.2 Reason for choosing Retail Industry and Primark Reason for choosing retail industry for research project is because it is a high profile and constantly changing business at the sharp end, but now-a-days, retail industry in UKis under high pressure as key factors like troubled mortgage and housing market, rising fuel prices and utility bills, high interest rates in UK are challenging retail environment as compared to years of strong growth between 2002 and 2004. Formally retail is defined as â€Å"sale of commodities to household or ultimate consumers† (Barry and Evans; 1986).Retail industry can be categorised in various sectors as food retailers, health and beauty retailers, clothing and footwear retailers, home furniture and household goods retailers etc. But now discount, budget or value retailing in UK has taken on a higher profile over recent years despite effects of recession. Especially interests have largely centered on growth of value or discount clothing retail industry. The organisation under focus in this report is Primark known for selling clothes at budget end of market and it is second largest clothing retailer in UK in terms of sales and revenue. Reason for choosing Primark is its wonderfully sustained growth in the worst recession times of history. Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and complex, high profile and constantly changing business environment which demands that marketing process of a large retail organisation like Primark should be managed strategically. Report is aimed at evaluating marketing strategy of Primark and to determine its effectiveness. 2.0 Primark: A Brief Overview Of The Business Primark is a brilliant and unique organisation with a mission statement to enrich the life of everyone with fashionable clothing regardless of social status. It emerged as major force in the British retail industry, contributing through its low price value and great quality fashion products for everyone in society as a whole and leaves remarkable impact on social, environmental and ethical behavior of people. Primark does not rip off its customers and presents excellent example of it motto which states â€Å"look good, pay less† Primark, (2010). Most of their clothes are bought from same factories as other fashion retailers and people producing them are paid exactly the same whatever label and whatever price in shop. Companys success is based on sourcing supply cheaply, they buy directly from factories without involving any agents, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes, buying stock in huge bulks and varieties and targeting young, fashion-conscious buyers under 35s, offering them high quality, fashion basics at value for money prices. They are able to offer such good value and good quality because of low mark-ups and big volumes. Their overhead costs are extremely low as they do not run expensive advertising campaigns; instead they have wonderful strategic marketing approach that stands them out. 3.0 Marketing Strategy Of Primark Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and high profile business environment which demands that marketing process of a retail organisation should be managed strategically. Strategy of an organisation is roadmap towards attainment of its long term goals and objectives. Strategic marketing management involves implementing principles of strategic management in the context of marketing function in organisation. At corporate level, marketing inputs (e.g., competitive analysis, market dynamics, and environmental shifts) are essential for formulating a corporate strategic plan. Primark has well organized strategic Target marketing and Product marketing approaches in place. 3.1 Target Marketing Approach Strategic marketing is about achieving maximum possible differentiation over competition in meeting customer needs, gaining and sustaining competitive advantage and capitalizing on corporate strength and capabilities. In todays dynamic environment, it is highly important for companies to relate characteristics and attributes of their products to customer requirements more closely. Firms are more concerned with the most commercially attractive segments of market for a given product. This not only increases opportunity but also reduces overall costs incurred by company. This process is called target marketing and it must be carried out systematically to be effective and for this purpose it can be divided into three stages as in Figure; 3.1.1 Segmentation At first stage of segmentation, overall market is divided into distinct groups of buyers who are likely to respond favourably to different products, services or marketing mix. Company needs to determine most appropriate basis for segmentation, identify characteristics for each segment and develop criteria to evaluate their commercial attractiveness and viability. Market segmentation allows managers to see clearly the diversity within their markets and uncover opportunities that may exist or segments whose needs have not been properly met by other offerings. Figure, depicts segmentation criteria for consumer market, determines base of segmentation and explains variables for each base As Primark is tagged a value clothing retailer, clothing is most important and leading item in its product portfolio follower by footwear. Its marketing segments are evaluated on basis of clothing and footwear. Although all above determined segmentations bases and variables are important but demographic factors are the most straight forward base for segmenting Primarks consumer market, as they are most meaningful. Main demographic variables for Primark consumer market are identified as in charts below. All demographic factors are identified according to their percentage relative attractiveness for targeting them depending upon their market share for Primark. Hhighlighted segments in diagrams are identified as most meaningful for Primark and they must be targeted to gain marketing objectives. 3.1.2 Targeting Next stage of market targeting focuses on evaluating and selecting one or more previously identified market segments at which to direct marketing resources, developing an appropriate marketing mix for them and develop segment coverage strategy. This selected segment is made focus of comprehensive marketing plan. Kottler (1984) suggested that in order for market segmentation to be effective each of the segments must be distinct, assessable, measurable, and profitable. Once determined which segment attractiveness factors are important, evaluate each of those factor against selected segments using segment attractiveness evaluation matrix below; There are four different targeting approaches can be considered to develop marketing mix to meet marketing objectives. Undifferentiated marketing is used for one marketing mix, targeted towards whole market and marketing mix (Price, Place, Product, Promotion, Distribution), and targets towards everybody. Differentiated marketing is used for multiple marketing mixes and involves multiple products, targeted towards multiple segments. Focused marketing is for one marketing mix and multiple segments with focus on one segment in particular, who will have control over other segments. Customised marketing is used for one marketing mix per customer as in figure below; For Primark, targeting strategy that I have decided to use is differentiated marketing strategy because we have multiple products and consumers can be segmented into multiple segments, hence best approach to be followed is differentiated marketing approach. Different segments identified are based on age, sex, life style, income level and social status and we have multiple products portfolio that can be targeted towards these various segments. 3.1.3 Positioning In third phase of product positioning all marketing mix elements are designed to fit a given place within a particular segment. This is how consumer perceives products relative position to competitors product which is highly important. It is like developing a marketing strategy aimed at creating and maintaining a desired concept and image for a product or service in consumers mind (See Appendix V for further information). Key to success is identification of attributes that are considered to be more important. Through market research we can identify what factors (attributes) are key drivers of a consumers preference for a brand. For instance, it was identified from a sample of female teenagers that were surveyed, that being trendy and stylish, having a good range of clothing, and good brand reputation, were most important factors for this target market when selecting a preferred brand Young Dimension of fashion retailer Primark. Brand positioning provides insight into brand performance and gives important inputs for marketing communications used to support a brand. Through communications, especially advertising, information can be conveyed about each attribute and in doing so adjust perceptions customers have of brand. As Primark need to reposition the perception market has of its brands from range and quality of clothing to be more trendy and stylish. Primark has emphasized more on in-store service and convenience; and as Budget Fashion retailer, they might want to maintain their current positioning of low price, affordable, but also good value for money. 3.2 Product Marketing Approach A companys performance is closely linked to its marketing strategies. Each companys strategy must be unique since each company is different with respect to customer, brands and competitors. I used Ansoff Matrix to determine product marketing strategies for Primark to set the directions for its business. With this matrix; I plot current and potential products along one axis and current and potential new markets along other axis. Thus it demonstrates low and high risk options and helps to think about business growth with new or existing products in new or existing markets. Each cell of matrix suggests a particular strategic approach. Output from Ansoff matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies. Market penetration is a growth strategy where business runs as usual and focuses on selling existing products into existing markets with good information on competitors and on customer needs. Primark can maintain or increase market share of its current products by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion. Primark has extensive portfolio and it cans secure dominance of growth markets and drive out competitors by more aggressive promotional campaign. For example Primark brand Active, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make market unattractive for competitors. Primark must uses internal promotion strategy by introducing loyalty schemes and increases its usage by existing customer. One of penetration strategy adopted by Primark is expansion of shop floors and opening new stores. Market development is a growth strategy where business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including moving to new geographical markets; for example exporting product to a new country, new product dimensions, new distribution channels, or different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments. I suggest Primark to move online by launching high tech website for online sales. Product development is growth strategy where business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. It requires development of new competencies and to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification is a growth strategy where a business launches new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from strategy and an honest assessment of potential risks. Analysing Primarks position and its strategies over past decade, we can better construct a growth strategy for Primark using Ansoff matrix model below in Figure; 4.2.1 Product Portfolio Analysis Marketing mix refers to set of marketing ingredients and tools a company can use to pursue its marketing objectives in target market. According to Lancaster and Massingham; (1999), it is at marketers decision to choose from an extensive set of marketing components to find right combination while marketing a product. 4Ps form basis of marketing mix. Kotler (1996) describes, â€Å"Marketing Mix is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups achieve what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others†. Marketing Mix is viewed as combination of elements that contribute to success of an organisation. If market research is carried out effectively, a company can plan a promotion for right product, at right price, and to get it to their chosen market, in right place.Getting this mix right is critical in order to successfully market a product. 4Ps are Product, Price, Promotion, Place as shown in figure below; Primark needs to combine various elements of marketing mix in order to achieve both a competitive advantage in market place and company objectives. Although company has control over these elements of marketing mix, but must cater elements in companys environment over which it has little or no control (figure above). For organisations like Primark although marketing mix must be is consumer-orientated catering not only profitability but also considering customer needs as in figure, Table below shows some of marketing mix decisions for Primark including aspects from each of marketing mix elements. 4.3 Brand Strategy A successful marketing mix contributes to good marketing of a product; hence there must be a brand strategy in place. American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers†. (See Appendix VI for characteristics of a brand). A strong brand strategy can increase awareness of a company and its offerings in such a way that establishes strong feelings and reactions and a favorable view towards company as a whole. To begin development of brands strategy for Primark, there must be clear identification of Primary Target Customer and/or Client, Competition Product and Service Mix, Unique Selling Proposition First step in developing brand strategy is defining brands. By defining brand, its easy to create foundation for all other components to build on. Brand definition serves as measuring stick in evaluating marketing strategies. Primark has an extensive brand portfolio; Brand portfolio usually refers to companys set of brands and/or products. The logic behind having a portfolio of brands rather than a single brand is possible diversification and risk minimization. Hence brand portfolio is a treasure trove. Next step is to determine our brands objectives, Primarks branding objectives include: Delivers message clearly Confirms your credibility Connects your target prospects emotionally Motivates buyer Concretes User Loyalty Gaining a specific number of new clients in next year Positioning company as an industry leader in next 12 months To succeed in branding company must understand needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Brand objectives should be comprised of company personality, image, core competencies and characteristics. The impressions that it makes as well as words people will use to describe company to others, are basic framework of a brand.   With a strong brand company builds credibility, has more influence on its market, and motivates customers and clients to purchase from it. If done correctly company will be looked at as a leader not a follower. Identifying marketing targets enables company to find opportunities available. It gives information needed to focus on buyers that are interested in what company has to offer. This can save both time and money in an ever-changing business environment. Power of brand relies on ability to focus target audiences. That is why defining target market will help to strengthen Primarks brands effectiveness. Target market for Primark is people up to age of 35 who are fashion conscious. Next step in developing Primarks brand strategy is to perform a careful analysis to determine principal barriers that it may face. These barriers are also known as market conditions that can keep your product or service from achieving success. The potential barriers in deploying Primarks brand strategy can competition, timing, financing, location, lack of demand, suppliers not meeting demands and targets. In order to face these obstacles its important to spend time doing a careful analysis of products or service to assist in developing brand, and positioning products in the market. Last step in brand strategy is branding companys identity in marketplace where image is all about appearance of packaging. Its important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to packaging is when going to launch a new brand. If youve already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to packaging. Packaging is judged and represented by business cards and stationery, web site, answering system, presentation of finished products. Brand equity does not develop instantaneously. A brand needs to be carefully nurtured and marketed so consumers feel real value and trust towards that brand. When a company manages its brands it has a number of strategies it can use to further increase its brand value. (See Appendix VI for further explanation). Brand strategies that are more suitable for Primark are line extension and introduction of new brands. Primark must focus on its brand management as its a dynamic and a continuous process that needs consistent investment of time and it must be allocated a specific budget as it is much more than mere marketing communications. Due to intangible nature of branding, results may not accrue in a short period of time a it takes time and reinforcement to build customer loyalty. Successfully out-branding its competitors is a continuous battle for hearts and minds of your customers. Proposition that Primarks brand strategy makes is very compelling, attractive and unique among competitiv e offerings. It must also be consistently reinforced throughout all phases of an organization, from senior executives to customer service, business development and even business partners. Primark is respected for quality of its products and cheap prices. If we briefly review business environment and other factors identified in this report for Primark then we may realize that consumer behaviour is changing and business environment evolving across retail industry. Concern is rise in suppliers demands regarding price and costs. If it continues to rise steeply it will damage profits that it is currently enjoying. Reviewing forces and factors faced by Primark and their impact on organisation, it is obvious that Primark is facing many challenges and standing at verge of it survival in long term. Market Research World, 2011 revealed that value fashion sector sees worst decline for first time in over 16 years much to gain of higher-priced retailers, reveals data by TNS Worldpanel Fashion. While fashion discounters such as Primark, Tesco, George and Matalan saw a phenomenal sales increase of nearly 30% last summer, growth has now ground to a hold with sales falling by 1% over last six months. In contrast, sales of most expensive clothing are up by 4%, as shoppers head to generally more expensive retailers such as multiples and mail order retailers. Clothing industry has been globalised. Strategies followed by clothing firms, to survive in a context of strong pressure from retailers and from competition from low-wage countries, are a combination of two trends. First trend is relocation of production to low-wage countries; second one is the development of six added-value activities: niche, Quick Response, full package, innovation, branding and retail. Elaine Giles, Research Manager, TNS says, â€Å"Shoppers are starting to favour higher priced retailers and premium end of market is performing well. Growth of value sector last year came on back of new store openings and expansions that brought an influx of new buyers, but now sector seems to have reached saturation point. The only way, budget retailers can continue their success is to increase spend of existing buyers, something they may struggle to do given current retail climate.† 4.0 Strategic Marketing Environment Analysis Primark is one of the leading value clothing retailers in UK. It is highly crucial for an organization like Primark to periodically review its marketing environment to gain competitive advantage in market. Discount cloth retailing in UK has several characteristics including clearance outlets, core business discounters, planned purchasing at high volume, own-label or branding, relationships with manufacturers, attracting customers with good image and service. There are three different analytical tools used to assess marketing environment of an organisation; Porters Five Forces Analysis, SWOT Analysis and PESTLE Analysis. 4.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis First of all Porters Analysis is carried out which is a technique for identifying forces which affect competition level in industry as shown in figure A below; The threat of new entrants in market is a critical element haunting Primark much as there are less entry barriers including low entry costs, high volume of suppliers, vast market in India and china, higher growth space in market, economies of scale, low capital requirements, access to distribution, government policy, low cost product design, access to necessary inputs. But new entrants in industry are not likely to cut their price to defend their market position. In an industry experiencing fast market growth, patents, proprietary knowledge, and brand reputation are also considered as barriers for companies entering industry. Strategic position of a company depends upon the extent to which what it offers is unique and cannot be replaced by something else. Primark has strong brand portfolio which is its uniqueness. As for some of products, like Primark cheap clothing there are alternatives. But there is no substitute for low price of Primarks products. Determinants of these substitution threats include relative price of substitutes, buyer propensity to substitute. Buyers/customers have greatest impact on Primarks strategies as its vision and strategies are customer focused. Hence, it has to cater changing customer trends, their demands and requirements. Customers volume, customer information level and trends, substitute products pull through, price, product difference, brand identity, impact on quality, buyers profit and incentives are few factors that Primark is facing as major challenge in competitive market. Suppliers might have high impact on Primark if they are bigger company and have less competitive market for their products. Primark is facing big challenge from supplier as it has good and long term relationships with its suppliers build on trust but recently three of its main suppliers are found involved in child labour and Primark has to cut-off ties with them immediately which is definitely a big blow for Primark. Primark pays its supplier competitive price for their products to retain them. Primark maintains substitute inputs, and high volume of supplier to avoid extra costs. Apart from five forces identified by Porters Analysis, there are other factors revealed by PESTLE Analysis challenging Primarks position in competitive market, in figure below; (For PESTLE Analysis, refer to Appendix II; and for SWOT Analysis, Appendix III) Strategic marketing analysis of Primark, using different analysis tools reveal that Primark is expanding globally and being in the global market; Primark has adopted an approach of â€Å"Think globally, Act locally† as stated by Armstrong, (2006). They are expanding globally but cater needs of local market and fashion trends in local culture. Primark supports UKs global role by showcasing the best of British fashion to a global customers as well as it reflects how it builds social cohesion and business ethics between customers and its suppliers. Primark faced a major blow to its reputation on 24 June, 2008 after being exposed by and undercover report by BBC exposing it using child labour. Afterwards, Primarks marketing strategy mainly focused to promote itself as ethical organisation with a clear and strict code of conduct to which all suppliers must adhere and which forms part of the terms of their contract. Primark supports nearly two million people through its supply contracts worth  £700 million and is dedicated to improve their standard of living and quality of life. For this, Primark has established ‘Primark Better Lives Foundation (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 a). In response to the allegations of use of child labour by its suppliers, identified by Panorama (BBC program) Primark stopped buying from three factories in southern India for breaking its Code of Conduct. It also took other major initiatives and is now active member of ETI that announce it ‘Achiever in year 2009-2010 independent audit (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 b). (For further information on ETI and Primark code of conduct, see Appendix IV) Further apart the positions, greater the opportunity for new brands to enter market, simply because competition is less intense. For example, in fashion retailing there are numerous brands in marketplace all competing with each other across differing core attributes, brand reputation, store presence, price, and clothing quality or trendy and stylish. To show how differing brands might be positioned relative to each other using attribute scores for each brand of fashion retailer we can measure and map brand positioning for respective brands. Figure below shows positioning of a number of fashion retailers using dimensions of price, store presence, and trendy and stylish. Using this list of drivers we can further depict on what we call a perceptual map how different competing brands of fashion retailers in market are positioned according to these drivers.   Understanding complexity associated with different attributes and brands can be made easier by developing a visual representation of each market. These are known as perceptual maps and they are used to determine how various brands are perceived according to key attributes that customers value. Perceptual mappingrepresent a geometric comparison of how competing products are perceived (Sinclair and Stalling, 1990). One thing to note is that closer products/brands are clustered together on a perceptual map, greater the competition. Mapping can provide significant insight into how a market operates. It provides marketers with an insight into how Primarks brands are perceived and it also provides a view about how their competitors brands are perceived. In addition to this substitute products can be uncovered, based on their closeness to each other (Day et al., 1979). All of this data reveals strengths weaknesses that in turn can assist strategic decisions about how to differentiate on attributes that matter to customers and how to compete more effectively in target market. 4.2 Competitor Analysis Like any other business, Primark is also facing tough competition from George at ASDA, Tesco, Marks Spencer, TK Max, Costco, Next, Zara, New Look, Peacock and Matalan. Analysis for each major competitor determines that Primark has better business strength and high market share. It has good financial strengths and high profitability but relatively poor quality of management and low standards of technology position. Primark is paying least attention to its marketing strategies. Marketing represents boundary between marketplace and company, and knowledge of current and emerging happenings in marketplace is extremely important in strategic planning exercise. In relation to competition, several external forces and environmental changes are faced by Primark that need to be considered to formulate its marketing strategy. Currently, Primark is facing high competition with quality competitors like Peacock, Matalan etc. They are offering cheap products as well and growing at tremendous speed, threatening position of Primark. Most of Primark customers are switching to rivals because of their quality products and good marketing strategies which Primark lacks. Marks and Spencer, the biggest rival of Primark has very extensive marketing strategies with strong brand portfolio. They do advertisement on almost every media available; while Primark do not use even single media for advertisement. Marks and Spenc Marketing Strategies of Primark Marketing Strategies of Primark 1.0 Introduction The research report under consideration is aimed to explore the significant role played by Marketing Strategies in todays modern and dynamic business environment. Marketing has gained substantial importance and has become first priority of decision makers in any organisation. This document presents a research report analyzing and forecasting marketing environment faced by leading retailer Primark with special focus on competitive analysis. Primark Stores Ltd, an Irish upstart and subsidiary of Associated British Foods, is second largest clothing retailer in terms of sales and revenue with its existence mainly in Ireland, UK, Spain and expanding further in the Europe. It is believed that soon it will become leading clothing retailer. This extensive research is aimed at exploring current marketing strategies adopted and evaluating their effectiveness. The critical review of current segmentation, targeting, positioning and branding strategies of Primark and an extensive market analysis is carried out to suggest future marketing strategies and growth areas and to improve and sustain quality of services provided. The expected outcomes of document are recommendations to use marketing strategies tactically in decision making to enjoy sustainable growth. 1.1 Reason for choosing the topic I have selected this topic realizing the fact that in todays intensively competitive business environment, financial successof any company depends on combined efforts of its financial strategy and marketing strategy. In fact, only those companies thrive in business who works closely with their customers; and, marketing has become a successful tool to create a relation with customers indirectly. From small to large, every organisation is realizing that effective marketing strategies can add value and exert tremendous influence over their ability to attract customers, leaving positive impact on companys performance and profitability. â€Å"Marketing is defined as management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. It involves integrated analysis, planning and control of marking mix variables (Product, Price, Promotion and Distribution) to satisfy both individuals and organizations objectives (Lancaster and Massingham, 1999). Marketing Environment consists of actors; and forces outside that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers (For further information on Marketing Environment, see Appendix I). 1.2 Reason for choosing Retail Industry and Primark Reason for choosing retail industry for research project is because it is a high profile and constantly changing business at the sharp end, but now-a-days, retail industry in UKis under high pressure as key factors like troubled mortgage and housing market, rising fuel prices and utility bills, high interest rates in UK are challenging retail environment as compared to years of strong growth between 2002 and 2004. Formally retail is defined as â€Å"sale of commodities to household or ultimate consumers† (Barry and Evans; 1986).Retail industry can be categorised in various sectors as food retailers, health and beauty retailers, clothing and footwear retailers, home furniture and household goods retailers etc. But now discount, budget or value retailing in UK has taken on a higher profile over recent years despite effects of recession. Especially interests have largely centered on growth of value or discount clothing retail industry. The organisation under focus in this report is Primark known for selling clothes at budget end of market and it is second largest clothing retailer in UK in terms of sales and revenue. Reason for choosing Primark is its wonderfully sustained growth in the worst recession times of history. Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and complex, high profile and constantly changing business environment which demands that marketing process of a large retail organisation like Primark should be managed strategically. Report is aimed at evaluating marketing strategy of Primark and to determine its effectiveness. 2.0 Primark: A Brief Overview Of The Business Primark is a brilliant and unique organisation with a mission statement to enrich the life of everyone with fashionable clothing regardless of social status. It emerged as major force in the British retail industry, contributing through its low price value and great quality fashion products for everyone in society as a whole and leaves remarkable impact on social, environmental and ethical behavior of people. Primark does not rip off its customers and presents excellent example of it motto which states â€Å"look good, pay less† Primark, (2010). Most of their clothes are bought from same factories as other fashion retailers and people producing them are paid exactly the same whatever label and whatever price in shop. Companys success is based on sourcing supply cheaply, they buy directly from factories without involving any agents, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes, buying stock in huge bulks and varieties and targeting young, fashion-conscious buyers under 35s, offering them high quality, fashion basics at value for money prices. They are able to offer such good value and good quality because of low mark-ups and big volumes. Their overhead costs are extremely low as they do not run expensive advertising campaigns; instead they have wonderful strategic marketing approach that stands them out. 3.0 Marketing Strategy Of Primark Retail clothing industry is a fast moving and high profile business environment which demands that marketing process of a retail organisation should be managed strategically. Strategy of an organisation is roadmap towards attainment of its long term goals and objectives. Strategic marketing management involves implementing principles of strategic management in the context of marketing function in organisation. At corporate level, marketing inputs (e.g., competitive analysis, market dynamics, and environmental shifts) are essential for formulating a corporate strategic plan. Primark has well organized strategic Target marketing and Product marketing approaches in place. 3.1 Target Marketing Approach Strategic marketing is about achieving maximum possible differentiation over competition in meeting customer needs, gaining and sustaining competitive advantage and capitalizing on corporate strength and capabilities. In todays dynamic environment, it is highly important for companies to relate characteristics and attributes of their products to customer requirements more closely. Firms are more concerned with the most commercially attractive segments of market for a given product. This not only increases opportunity but also reduces overall costs incurred by company. This process is called target marketing and it must be carried out systematically to be effective and for this purpose it can be divided into three stages as in Figure; 3.1.1 Segmentation At first stage of segmentation, overall market is divided into distinct groups of buyers who are likely to respond favourably to different products, services or marketing mix. Company needs to determine most appropriate basis for segmentation, identify characteristics for each segment and develop criteria to evaluate their commercial attractiveness and viability. Market segmentation allows managers to see clearly the diversity within their markets and uncover opportunities that may exist or segments whose needs have not been properly met by other offerings. Figure, depicts segmentation criteria for consumer market, determines base of segmentation and explains variables for each base As Primark is tagged a value clothing retailer, clothing is most important and leading item in its product portfolio follower by footwear. Its marketing segments are evaluated on basis of clothing and footwear. Although all above determined segmentations bases and variables are important but demographic factors are the most straight forward base for segmenting Primarks consumer market, as they are most meaningful. Main demographic variables for Primark consumer market are identified as in charts below. All demographic factors are identified according to their percentage relative attractiveness for targeting them depending upon their market share for Primark. Hhighlighted segments in diagrams are identified as most meaningful for Primark and they must be targeted to gain marketing objectives. 3.1.2 Targeting Next stage of market targeting focuses on evaluating and selecting one or more previously identified market segments at which to direct marketing resources, developing an appropriate marketing mix for them and develop segment coverage strategy. This selected segment is made focus of comprehensive marketing plan. Kottler (1984) suggested that in order for market segmentation to be effective each of the segments must be distinct, assessable, measurable, and profitable. Once determined which segment attractiveness factors are important, evaluate each of those factor against selected segments using segment attractiveness evaluation matrix below; There are four different targeting approaches can be considered to develop marketing mix to meet marketing objectives. Undifferentiated marketing is used for one marketing mix, targeted towards whole market and marketing mix (Price, Place, Product, Promotion, Distribution), and targets towards everybody. Differentiated marketing is used for multiple marketing mixes and involves multiple products, targeted towards multiple segments. Focused marketing is for one marketing mix and multiple segments with focus on one segment in particular, who will have control over other segments. Customised marketing is used for one marketing mix per customer as in figure below; For Primark, targeting strategy that I have decided to use is differentiated marketing strategy because we have multiple products and consumers can be segmented into multiple segments, hence best approach to be followed is differentiated marketing approach. Different segments identified are based on age, sex, life style, income level and social status and we have multiple products portfolio that can be targeted towards these various segments. 3.1.3 Positioning In third phase of product positioning all marketing mix elements are designed to fit a given place within a particular segment. This is how consumer perceives products relative position to competitors product which is highly important. It is like developing a marketing strategy aimed at creating and maintaining a desired concept and image for a product or service in consumers mind (See Appendix V for further information). Key to success is identification of attributes that are considered to be more important. Through market research we can identify what factors (attributes) are key drivers of a consumers preference for a brand. For instance, it was identified from a sample of female teenagers that were surveyed, that being trendy and stylish, having a good range of clothing, and good brand reputation, were most important factors for this target market when selecting a preferred brand Young Dimension of fashion retailer Primark. Brand positioning provides insight into brand performance and gives important inputs for marketing communications used to support a brand. Through communications, especially advertising, information can be conveyed about each attribute and in doing so adjust perceptions customers have of brand. As Primark need to reposition the perception market has of its brands from range and quality of clothing to be more trendy and stylish. Primark has emphasized more on in-store service and convenience; and as Budget Fashion retailer, they might want to maintain their current positioning of low price, affordable, but also good value for money. 3.2 Product Marketing Approach A companys performance is closely linked to its marketing strategies. Each companys strategy must be unique since each company is different with respect to customer, brands and competitors. I used Ansoff Matrix to determine product marketing strategies for Primark to set the directions for its business. With this matrix; I plot current and potential products along one axis and current and potential new markets along other axis. Thus it demonstrates low and high risk options and helps to think about business growth with new or existing products in new or existing markets. Each cell of matrix suggests a particular strategic approach. Output from Ansoff matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies. Market penetration is a growth strategy where business runs as usual and focuses on selling existing products into existing markets with good information on competitors and on customer needs. Primark can maintain or increase market share of its current products by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion. Primark has extensive portfolio and it cans secure dominance of growth markets and drive out competitors by more aggressive promotional campaign. For example Primark brand Active, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make market unattractive for competitors. Primark must uses internal promotion strategy by introducing loyalty schemes and increases its usage by existing customer. One of penetration strategy adopted by Primark is expansion of shop floors and opening new stores. Market development is a growth strategy where business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including moving to new geographical markets; for example exporting product to a new country, new product dimensions, new distribution channels, or different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments. I suggest Primark to move online by launching high tech website for online sales. Product development is growth strategy where business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. It requires development of new competencies and to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification is a growth strategy where a business launches new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from strategy and an honest assessment of potential risks. Analysing Primarks position and its strategies over past decade, we can better construct a growth strategy for Primark using Ansoff matrix model below in Figure; 4.2.1 Product Portfolio Analysis Marketing mix refers to set of marketing ingredients and tools a company can use to pursue its marketing objectives in target market. According to Lancaster and Massingham; (1999), it is at marketers decision to choose from an extensive set of marketing components to find right combination while marketing a product. 4Ps form basis of marketing mix. Kotler (1996) describes, â€Å"Marketing Mix is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups achieve what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others†. Marketing Mix is viewed as combination of elements that contribute to success of an organisation. If market research is carried out effectively, a company can plan a promotion for right product, at right price, and to get it to their chosen market, in right place.Getting this mix right is critical in order to successfully market a product. 4Ps are Product, Price, Promotion, Place as shown in figure below; Primark needs to combine various elements of marketing mix in order to achieve both a competitive advantage in market place and company objectives. Although company has control over these elements of marketing mix, but must cater elements in companys environment over which it has little or no control (figure above). For organisations like Primark although marketing mix must be is consumer-orientated catering not only profitability but also considering customer needs as in figure, Table below shows some of marketing mix decisions for Primark including aspects from each of marketing mix elements. 4.3 Brand Strategy A successful marketing mix contributes to good marketing of a product; hence there must be a brand strategy in place. American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers†. (See Appendix VI for characteristics of a brand). A strong brand strategy can increase awareness of a company and its offerings in such a way that establishes strong feelings and reactions and a favorable view towards company as a whole. To begin development of brands strategy for Primark, there must be clear identification of Primary Target Customer and/or Client, Competition Product and Service Mix, Unique Selling Proposition First step in developing brand strategy is defining brands. By defining brand, its easy to create foundation for all other components to build on. Brand definition serves as measuring stick in evaluating marketing strategies. Primark has an extensive brand portfolio; Brand portfolio usually refers to companys set of brands and/or products. The logic behind having a portfolio of brands rather than a single brand is possible diversification and risk minimization. Hence brand portfolio is a treasure trove. Next step is to determine our brands objectives, Primarks branding objectives include: Delivers message clearly Confirms your credibility Connects your target prospects emotionally Motivates buyer Concretes User Loyalty Gaining a specific number of new clients in next year Positioning company as an industry leader in next 12 months To succeed in branding company must understand needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Brand objectives should be comprised of company personality, image, core competencies and characteristics. The impressions that it makes as well as words people will use to describe company to others, are basic framework of a brand.   With a strong brand company builds credibility, has more influence on its market, and motivates customers and clients to purchase from it. If done correctly company will be looked at as a leader not a follower. Identifying marketing targets enables company to find opportunities available. It gives information needed to focus on buyers that are interested in what company has to offer. This can save both time and money in an ever-changing business environment. Power of brand relies on ability to focus target audiences. That is why defining target market will help to strengthen Primarks brands effectiveness. Target market for Primark is people up to age of 35 who are fashion conscious. Next step in developing Primarks brand strategy is to perform a careful analysis to determine principal barriers that it may face. These barriers are also known as market conditions that can keep your product or service from achieving success. The potential barriers in deploying Primarks brand strategy can competition, timing, financing, location, lack of demand, suppliers not meeting demands and targets. In order to face these obstacles its important to spend time doing a careful analysis of products or service to assist in developing brand, and positioning products in the market. Last step in brand strategy is branding companys identity in marketplace where image is all about appearance of packaging. Its important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to packaging is when going to launch a new brand. If youve already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to packaging. Packaging is judged and represented by business cards and stationery, web site, answering system, presentation of finished products. Brand equity does not develop instantaneously. A brand needs to be carefully nurtured and marketed so consumers feel real value and trust towards that brand. When a company manages its brands it has a number of strategies it can use to further increase its brand value. (See Appendix VI for further explanation). Brand strategies that are more suitable for Primark are line extension and introduction of new brands. Primark must focus on its brand management as its a dynamic and a continuous process that needs consistent investment of time and it must be allocated a specific budget as it is much more than mere marketing communications. Due to intangible nature of branding, results may not accrue in a short period of time a it takes time and reinforcement to build customer loyalty. Successfully out-branding its competitors is a continuous battle for hearts and minds of your customers. Proposition that Primarks brand strategy makes is very compelling, attractive and unique among competitiv e offerings. It must also be consistently reinforced throughout all phases of an organization, from senior executives to customer service, business development and even business partners. Primark is respected for quality of its products and cheap prices. If we briefly review business environment and other factors identified in this report for Primark then we may realize that consumer behaviour is changing and business environment evolving across retail industry. Concern is rise in suppliers demands regarding price and costs. If it continues to rise steeply it will damage profits that it is currently enjoying. Reviewing forces and factors faced by Primark and their impact on organisation, it is obvious that Primark is facing many challenges and standing at verge of it survival in long term. Market Research World, 2011 revealed that value fashion sector sees worst decline for first time in over 16 years much to gain of higher-priced retailers, reveals data by TNS Worldpanel Fashion. While fashion discounters such as Primark, Tesco, George and Matalan saw a phenomenal sales increase of nearly 30% last summer, growth has now ground to a hold with sales falling by 1% over last six months. In contrast, sales of most expensive clothing are up by 4%, as shoppers head to generally more expensive retailers such as multiples and mail order retailers. Clothing industry has been globalised. Strategies followed by clothing firms, to survive in a context of strong pressure from retailers and from competition from low-wage countries, are a combination of two trends. First trend is relocation of production to low-wage countries; second one is the development of six added-value activities: niche, Quick Response, full package, innovation, branding and retail. Elaine Giles, Research Manager, TNS says, â€Å"Shoppers are starting to favour higher priced retailers and premium end of market is performing well. Growth of value sector last year came on back of new store openings and expansions that brought an influx of new buyers, but now sector seems to have reached saturation point. The only way, budget retailers can continue their success is to increase spend of existing buyers, something they may struggle to do given current retail climate.† 4.0 Strategic Marketing Environment Analysis Primark is one of the leading value clothing retailers in UK. It is highly crucial for an organization like Primark to periodically review its marketing environment to gain competitive advantage in market. Discount cloth retailing in UK has several characteristics including clearance outlets, core business discounters, planned purchasing at high volume, own-label or branding, relationships with manufacturers, attracting customers with good image and service. There are three different analytical tools used to assess marketing environment of an organisation; Porters Five Forces Analysis, SWOT Analysis and PESTLE Analysis. 4.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis First of all Porters Analysis is carried out which is a technique for identifying forces which affect competition level in industry as shown in figure A below; The threat of new entrants in market is a critical element haunting Primark much as there are less entry barriers including low entry costs, high volume of suppliers, vast market in India and china, higher growth space in market, economies of scale, low capital requirements, access to distribution, government policy, low cost product design, access to necessary inputs. But new entrants in industry are not likely to cut their price to defend their market position. In an industry experiencing fast market growth, patents, proprietary knowledge, and brand reputation are also considered as barriers for companies entering industry. Strategic position of a company depends upon the extent to which what it offers is unique and cannot be replaced by something else. Primark has strong brand portfolio which is its uniqueness. As for some of products, like Primark cheap clothing there are alternatives. But there is no substitute for low price of Primarks products. Determinants of these substitution threats include relative price of substitutes, buyer propensity to substitute. Buyers/customers have greatest impact on Primarks strategies as its vision and strategies are customer focused. Hence, it has to cater changing customer trends, their demands and requirements. Customers volume, customer information level and trends, substitute products pull through, price, product difference, brand identity, impact on quality, buyers profit and incentives are few factors that Primark is facing as major challenge in competitive market. Suppliers might have high impact on Primark if they are bigger company and have less competitive market for their products. Primark is facing big challenge from supplier as it has good and long term relationships with its suppliers build on trust but recently three of its main suppliers are found involved in child labour and Primark has to cut-off ties with them immediately which is definitely a big blow for Primark. Primark pays its supplier competitive price for their products to retain them. Primark maintains substitute inputs, and high volume of supplier to avoid extra costs. Apart from five forces identified by Porters Analysis, there are other factors revealed by PESTLE Analysis challenging Primarks position in competitive market, in figure below; (For PESTLE Analysis, refer to Appendix II; and for SWOT Analysis, Appendix III) Strategic marketing analysis of Primark, using different analysis tools reveal that Primark is expanding globally and being in the global market; Primark has adopted an approach of â€Å"Think globally, Act locally† as stated by Armstrong, (2006). They are expanding globally but cater needs of local market and fashion trends in local culture. Primark supports UKs global role by showcasing the best of British fashion to a global customers as well as it reflects how it builds social cohesion and business ethics between customers and its suppliers. Primark faced a major blow to its reputation on 24 June, 2008 after being exposed by and undercover report by BBC exposing it using child labour. Afterwards, Primarks marketing strategy mainly focused to promote itself as ethical organisation with a clear and strict code of conduct to which all suppliers must adhere and which forms part of the terms of their contract. Primark supports nearly two million people through its supply contracts worth  £700 million and is dedicated to improve their standard of living and quality of life. For this, Primark has established ‘Primark Better Lives Foundation (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 a). In response to the allegations of use of child labour by its suppliers, identified by Panorama (BBC program) Primark stopped buying from three factories in southern India for breaking its Code of Conduct. It also took other major initiatives and is now active member of ETI that announce it ‘Achiever in year 2009-2010 independent audit (Primark Ethical Trading, 2011 b). (For further information on ETI and Primark code of conduct, see Appendix IV) Further apart the positions, greater the opportunity for new brands to enter market, simply because competition is less intense. For example, in fashion retailing there are numerous brands in marketplace all competing with each other across differing core attributes, brand reputation, store presence, price, and clothing quality or trendy and stylish. To show how differing brands might be positioned relative to each other using attribute scores for each brand of fashion retailer we can measure and map brand positioning for respective brands. Figure below shows positioning of a number of fashion retailers using dimensions of price, store presence, and trendy and stylish. Using this list of drivers we can further depict on what we call a perceptual map how different competing brands of fashion retailers in market are positioned according to these drivers.   Understanding complexity associated with different attributes and brands can be made easier by developing a visual representation of each market. These are known as perceptual maps and they are used to determine how various brands are perceived according to key attributes that customers value. Perceptual mappingrepresent a geometric comparison of how competing products are perceived (Sinclair and Stalling, 1990). One thing to note is that closer products/brands are clustered together on a perceptual map, greater the competition. Mapping can provide significant insight into how a market operates. It provides marketers with an insight into how Primarks brands are perceived and it also provides a view about how their competitors brands are perceived. In addition to this substitute products can be uncovered, based on their closeness to each other (Day et al., 1979). All of this data reveals strengths weaknesses that in turn can assist strategic decisions about how to differentiate on attributes that matter to customers and how to compete more effectively in target market. 4.2 Competitor Analysis Like any other business, Primark is also facing tough competition from George at ASDA, Tesco, Marks Spencer, TK Max, Costco, Next, Zara, New Look, Peacock and Matalan. Analysis for each major competitor determines that Primark has better business strength and high market share. It has good financial strengths and high profitability but relatively poor quality of management and low standards of technology position. Primark is paying least attention to its marketing strategies. Marketing represents boundary between marketplace and company, and knowledge of current and emerging happenings in marketplace is extremely important in strategic planning exercise. In relation to competition, several external forces and environmental changes are faced by Primark that need to be considered to formulate its marketing strategy. Currently, Primark is facing high competition with quality competitors like Peacock, Matalan etc. They are offering cheap products as well and growing at tremendous speed, threatening position of Primark. Most of Primark customers are switching to rivals because of their quality products and good marketing strategies which Primark lacks. Marks and Spencer, the biggest rival of Primark has very extensive marketing strategies with strong brand portfolio. They do advertisement on almost every media available; while Primark do not use even single media for advertisement. Marks and Spenc