The Early Bird Gets the Worm... and Early Risers Get Better Grades

The Early Bird Gets the Worm... and Early Risers Get Better Grades A New York Times article on September 9, 2011, To Earn an ‘A,’ Set the Alarm Clock Early, reported that early morning classes, at least at one college in New York, correlate to higher grades. The professors who conducted the study found a direct relationship between later morning classes and higher incidence of alcohol use. The article did not make it clear whether the morning classes were the cause of the tame nights, or whether students already inclined not to drink were the ones who chose early classes. What was clear is that students with later classes drank more and slept more poorly, albeit for more hours, than did their early bird counterparts.   Apparently their grades suffered. Could an early schedule actually be a cause of sobriety and overall responsibility?   If so, it seems that registering for early morning classes is a good idea for any college student.   Why tempt fate? And perhaps the same rule applies to people in the workforce.   Certainly people who get up at 5am for work every day are unlikely to spend their weeknights pounding shots until 2am. So what about business owners and job seekers?   Those early morning BNI and other networking events might be keeping us on the straight and narrow. I am not a drinker myself, but I do know that when I don’t have early morning appointments I tend to stay up later â€" working, not playing, but perhaps I would be more productive if I were to go to bed by 10pm and get up at 5am each day, rather than slide into a 1am to 8am sleeping pattern.   Am I hurting my “grades” by doing that?   I’m starting to wonder. If you are someone who does not have an external force keeping you to a schedule, perhaps it is a good idea to create an early morning appointment of some kind to train you to go to bed at a decent hour.   Some people I know have a mini coaching call with a friend each morning.   Some go to the gym religiously at 7am.   If you knew you would perform better overall by starting early, would you do it? One of my friends and informal coaches keeps telling me I should stop working at night.   I generally haven’t listened to his advice (note:   I wrote this blog at 10pm on a Saturday night).   But I’m going to try an experiment.   This week I am going to go to bed by 11pm every night, and get up at 6am. Will I see a difference in how much I get done, or in how well I do it?   I’ll keep you posted on the results.

Disadvantages Of Police Discretion - 835 Words

Assignment 2 Discretion can be defined as the availability of choice of options or actions. We all use discretion each and every day with all the decisions we make in our day to day lives. With that being said police also use discretion but theirs have the ability to change people’s lives on the daily basis. They have to make those decisions each and every day not knowing how it will affect the person’s life. Discretion is something that is a very necessary part of police work. One of the reason it is mainly exercised is because of all the vague and ill- defined laws that we have in our country. Although most instances when police discretion is being used the violations are minor. Another why police discretion is much needed is because if†¦show more content†¦Police can also use discretion in a very positive manner as well. There was a case in London when a man was shoplifting out of a Kroger and the police officer got the call but when got there he saw the man was stealing baby formula. It turned out that he was stealing for his six-month-old son, who was with him at the time. The officer said Me citing him for court wouldn t have done any good for him, he said. He s already short on money, can t afford formula, so me making him appear in court, he s still not going to have any food for that baby. To me that was an excellent example of discretion used with restraint and not only did he not arrest the man he actually bought him the formula and informed him about how he could get help to get things like that. I feel like that would be totally wrong to arrest someone for committing that crime. The officer also said I think when [a lot of people] look at us, they see just the uniform and just the car, just the tools that we have on our belt, Roby said. But behind the uniform, I m a human being and I m a person out in this community just like any of them. I have a little boy. I m a father just like that gentleman was.† That is the way I feel all officers should think before they do certain actions towards a citizen. Because they do notShow MoreRelatedThe Decision Making Of Criminal Justice Actors806 Words   |  4 Pagesanalyze large data. These two different methods brought out important but different perspectives into discretion research. Kane (2005) used a macro level approach to look at police legitimacy and predicting violent crime. The researcher used consistent measures of previous research on structural disadvantage to conceptualize the measurement (Krivo and Peterson 1996). This study used the New York City Police Department and the United States Census bureau data sources. The data was from a retrospective andRead MoreDiscretion Of The Criminal Justice System1509 Words   |  7 PagesDiscretion, undoubtedly plays a massive role and is implemented in various aspects of the system. But what is discretion? Discretion, as defined in Canadian Criminal Justice: A Primer, is merely the freedom to choose among different options when confronted with the need to make a decision. As significant part of the criminal justice system in Canada, being a police officers â€Å"involves the use of a significant amount of discretion† (McKillop Pfeifer, 2004) . Due to the portrayal of the police byRead MorePolice Discre tion1244 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Police Discretion Jocelyn Golphin University of the District of Columbia Criminal Justice System 2/21/2014 Golphin 2 Police discretion is a very important approach in matters concerning criminal justice. There has been a consistent problem between enforcing the law and the spirit of the law. Discretion in the broader sense can be defined as the individual’s ability to make a decision basing on the principle of courses of the action. During trainingRead MoreEssay On Police Discretion1053 Words   |  5 PagesPolice Discretion is one of the many tool officers have a choice to use when making decision in enforcing the law. Officer have the option to use discretion were the officers see fit. They do not have to issue a citation or arrest in many cases a warning many be justified. Many of the outcomes could be determine by several factors which include the subjects attitude, the crime and the person past history. In some cases, a subject’s social status and financial status in the community have also haveRead MorePolicing Is The Primary Component Of The Criminal Justice System1648 Words   |  7 Pagesthe primary component of the criminal justice system. The police have a constitutional duty to enforce the law, provide the public with safety and security and maintain order in the society. They are seen as an authority figure who has considerable control over it s citizens. The police also have a duty to arrest people who break the law or commit an offense and in doing so, they help keep the justice system in a functional state. The police does not determine the guilt or innocence of an individualRead MoreThe Significance Of Statutory Interpretation1433 Words   |  6 Pagespublic toilet by the police officers. However, Under The Town Police Clauses Act 1847 , stated that they must be a passenger. On the other hand, The Public Health Amendment Act 1902, stated that the word, ‘street’ could mean any public places under the control of local authority which were the police officers. The Police Clauses Act stated the word, ‘passenger’ could h ave different meanings but, in this case they believed that it could mean a, ‘foot passenger’ also, the police were not travellingRead MoreThe Usefulness of Ocs in Measuring Crime1380 Words   |  6 Pages(OCS). OCS is the crimes which are reported by the victim, and then further recorded by the Police. Not all crimes are recorded by the Police, which lead to a dark figure in the overall collected OCS. To avoid dark figures there are other methods to measure crime and deviance. OCS is a police recorded measure of crime. One could argue that the police play a key role in how much crime there is in society. Police dispersal is much greater, and targets extra resources in particular localities, such asRead MoreHow Local Law Enforcement Has Used Grant Dollars1363 Words   |  6 Pagesactually need. Because there’s a big difference between our military and local law enforcement and we don t want those lines blurred. That would be contrary to our traditions.† This is all too familiar nowadays. Police Militarization has appeared to have gone too far in local and state police officers. To combat the war on drugs in 1971 President Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs causing a dramatic increase in federal agencies both in size and presence. It wasn’t until 1997 when the 1033 programRead MoreAuthority And Judgement Of Police Discretion1892 Words   |  8 PagesBhote 1 Tenzing Bhote Professor Shawn Hill AJ 101 16 April, 2016 Power of Law â€Å"Discretion has the meaning of acting on one s own authority and judgement. In law, discretion as to legal rulings, such as whether evidence is excluded at a trial, may be exercised by a judge. Some view discretion negatively, while some view it positively. Discretion is at all levels of law enforcement.† Discretion is a ubiquitous and legitimate aspect of modern policing, though it’s scope and limits are poorly understoodRead MorePolice Abuse Of Discretion And Discretion2015 Words   |  9 Pages Police Abuse of Discretion William Powell Jr. American Military University Professor Robert Arruda CMRJ303 Criminology January 17, 2014 Abstract Utilizing the research from several sources and personal experience, this paper will discuss police abuse of discretion. The paper will begin by defining discretion. The paper will examine several types of discretion variables. The paper will discuss its use in the field and office settings. The paper will discuss

Story Truth Vs. Happening Truth Using Tim Obriens work...

The Effect of Story Truth vs. Happening Truth Literature is such a beautiful thing because it does not give us an answer to its questions. There are so many iffy spots that leave us to develop our own thoughts and feelings toward the piece of work. This is an interesting factor because at many times it affects us in a different way and can develop us as an individual. When reading a piece of literature, one person can interpret it in different ways than another person reading the same piece of work. I remember analyzing poems with my English class in the previous years and when we were asked to interpret it, we all had different answers. Sometimes what I got out of the poem didnÂ’t even go close to the direction that my classmate†¦show more content†¦Although parts of the book may have not been true, we were still affected by reading it. We got to share some of their feeling, thoughts, and life and although we did not know exactly how it felt in the Vietnam war. The way OBrien wrote was as if it was happening right i n front of us. He did not tell us which parts were strayed or not, because he himself did not know. He gave us the freedom to let our minds wander and think to ourselves what we thought to be true. He proposed questions through his work, but did not give us an answer. In the book, OBrien touched on what he as a writer and participant in the Vietnam War sometimes perceived in different ways and what actually happened. Overall he was looking at the story truth verses the happening truth. When something happened within a war, such as a soldier dying, the truth was at many times exaggerated. You tell the story once, and the next time you add one little detail thus exaggerating the story over time. What happens is that when you are in the moment, things happen so fast. When you sit back and think upon it though, things go slower in your mind and you start to think something more of what actually happened. OBrien wrote the way he did on purpose because he found it a great way to clear hi s head and a better way to tell the story of the lost soldiers of Vietnam. I am sure that he could have given us the straight out facts of what happened and left the happening truth verses story

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About Gre Essay Samples Ets and How It Can Affect You

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About Gre Essay Samples Ets and How It Can Affect You New Ideas Into Gre Essay Samples Ets Never Before Revealed So, you need to make certain there are at least 5-6 paragraphs in your essay, if you prefer a good score on the AWA. A high-scoring essay within this section will deal with the topic presented directly. If you want to know more regarding the GRE essay length, we've completed a distinct post on that. You probably believe that the GRE essay section isn't quite as consequential as the other sections. Fortunately, you don't have to experience this anymore as we can assist you even with a sat essay sample. Not only do you have to read through GRE sample essays, but you also have to look for topics on which you are able to write GRE sample essays yourself and have them evaluated. The essay graders understand that you simply get 30 minutes to compose each AWA essay and in addition, they know that you won't have the ability to cover every potential argument, reason and rebuttal. More than 50 GRE Sample Essays is in our site. Analyzing a problem is another of the potential GRE essay topics. In the issue essay, you will be provided a topic that's debatable. Be sure to spell out in what way the answers to the questions would help to rate the conclusion. Write a response in which you discuss what questions would want to get answered so as to choose whether the recommendation will probably have the predicted outcome. The Basics of Gre Essay Samples Ets Needless to say, it won't be possible that you tackle this task if you don't have had exposure to these sorts of essays, which is possible only through GRE sample essays. There are scores and scores of mock essays on the net, and with a very simple google search, you can get access to different essays for the GRE. Thousands of GRE aspirants visit these forums each and every day, and if you're able to post your essay and request some feedback, more frequently than not, someone will supply you with the crucial aid. To begin with, utilize the perfect-scorin g sample GRE essays within this guide as models of feasible approaches to achieve the essay tasks. The very first point to do before you get started searching for GRE sample essays is to comprehend what the Analytical Writing test section is about. After all, the GRE Issue isn't a test of knowledge as much as it's a test of how you're able to use knowledge however confined to back your position. Just take a GRE practice test with us under the very same conditions as the actual thing. As a result, if you would like to know the GRE sample essays clearly, you have to first go through these links which will provide you with a fair idea of the way to prepare for this test section, what the test section contains and what all to remember when writing the essays. Learn what examples to get in mind while you go in the test. Or, to actually get a feeling of the way the scores work, have a peek at a number of sample essays. One of the absolute most important features about a compelling essay is its capacity to convince the reader with sound logical reasoning. When it is short essay examples that you need or any other kind of essay, we're here to assist you at a reasonable cost. Although this essay seems to be carefully organized, it doesn't adhere to the directions for the assigned task. We specializing in supplying you the custom made essay that you will need. Gre Essay Samples Ets Secrets It doesn't need to be a complete paragraph, but you want to at the very least introduce your ideas at the start of your essay and wrap up your conclusions at the conclusion of it. The next thing to do is to cover the essay. Some people think that scientific discoveries have given us a far better mastery of the world around us. However, there are a couple of vital points which they don't realize. Students should always question what they're taught rather than accepting it passively. They lead busy lives and often forget about an upcoming deadline. At some point, they think that it is necessary to seek help when they have to write essays. Most students find it hard to compose unique kinds of essays.

Requirement and Develop Workforce Objective †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Requirement and Develop Workforce Objective. Answer: Introduction: This paper is based on procedural assessment of different tasks that collectively answer the three parts under consideration. That is, workforce planning report, communication strategy, risk management and contingency plan. Therefore, by responding to the various aspects of this paper on case study and appendix information, the three aspects will be achieved. From the case study scenario of JKL industries in Australia, HR consultant will be very useful in reviewing workforce requirement and develop workforce objective and strategies. In that connection, we will consider factors that are likely to affect supply of workforce. These factors will include internal labour resources and the external labour markets. JKL industries had achieved competitive advantage over other companies dealing with sale of products such as forklift, spare parts and small trucks. The sale of these products has assisted the company to generate a lot of wealth and in the span of 12 years of business operation achieve competitive advantage. The requirement of workforce for JKL industries along with development of workforce objectives and strategies can be achieved by employing several mechanisms. First, the industry can lay out marketing strategies (Thomas, 2009). If JKL industries market the products to a wider market, then there is higher probability of generating more wealth. This is because, the quantity of sales that will be done in a given period of time will increase significantly. Thus, there is a perfect positive correlation between the level of marketing and sales made by JKL industry in a given period of time. Again, considering that JKL industries had made more sales that contributed to 10% increase in sales per year, the industry had faced challenges in the last three years. The relative cost on these products such as forklifts and small tracks had increased significantly. Taxation process has as well affected the industry. Therefore, as a HR consultant, I aim at examining factors affecting workforce supply. To start with, we consider internal labour resources. The department of human resource management is highly involved in the process of hiring and recruiting the internal labor resources (Thomas, 2009). These resources affect JKL industries directly from the inside. This aspect affect workforce supply in a number of ways. First, the industry mode of agreement with internal labour resources. If the industry offer a proper and appropriate working environment with internal labour resources, then the supply of workforce is likely to increase because many of these workers have great attrac tion on the conditions of their workplace (Thomas, 2009). If these conditions are risky to the workers, then many of internal labour resources will be discouraged from working for JKL industries. In return, the number of workforce supply will reduce tremendously. Another aspect that will favor the supply of workforce will be wages, salaries and remunerations. If these cash aspects are favorable to the internal labour resources then the supply of workforce will increase significantly. Again, workforce supply can be affected by external labour market. These markets highly affect the supply of workforce. If JKL industries expand on the market regarding the external labour market (Thomas, 2009). More markets implies more workforce needed to fill the gaps in the market. Lastly, the other aspect of factors affecting workforce supply is the demand of forklifts and small tracks. If the demand for these products increases, then the supply of workforce will increase significantly. Reduction in demand will result to less workforce supply. The data contained in the appendix relate to JKL accounting system, payroll system and HR management system. The demographic data and workforce turnover on staffs has a wider implication. Starting with staff turnover, we are in a position to review the number of staffs in a given position at a given point in time. The number of workers who exit a particular position and reasons for exit are also indicated. It is important to appreciate the role played by different staffs in a particular position. It is through these workers that JKL industries managed to increase sales rate to 10% per annum. Were it not for the efforts of these staffs, the industries would not have been able to achieve competitive advantage over other competitors (Ryan Deci, 2017). If we review the position of senior manager on staff turnover platform, we realize that only a single senior manager exit the industry out of four senior managers. However, the reasons for exit are retirement and venture into better oppor tunities. This is a perfect record for JKL industries. A senior manager is expected to go normal retirement or venture to new opportunities. New opportunities implies that the industry has mentored that individual to a better leader. The other position to be considered is branch manager position. Out of six branch managers, only two exit JKL industries. This is through normal retirement and new opportunity. Thus, just like senior manager, the review are similar. This is a perfect record for JKL industries. A senior manager is expected to go normal retirement or venture to new opportunities. New opportunities implies that the industry has mentored that individual to a better leader. The other position under staff turnover is line manager. Out of 18 line managers, only 3 exit. Unlike the other two positions, the reasons of exit is different. There is normal retirement, unhealthy working conditions and lack of opportunities. Thus JKL industries failed to nature these position since the conditions for work are unhealthy thus resulting to a larger exit number. Finally, the position of mechanic and sale force and customer service have the largest population of exit as well as workforce (McGregor, 2012). The reasons of exit indicate that the industry need to reconsider these position in terms of working conditions and lack of recognition. It is a big mistake by the company to ignore this positions. Their services cannot be under estimated. From demographic data, the female gender has not ventured in any way in the position of senior manager and branch manager. Again, large number of women tend to venture in sales and customer care position. There is need to encourage women to venture into other positions. There should be no discrimination on position based on gender. JKL industry need to offer equal opportunities to both males and females. From the probabilities indicated each year on the different positions, I believe there is hope on chances of filling the positions. This is because, all these probabilities are beyond half. This is a good indicator that workers are willing to join JKL industry. Probably the industry have managed to reduce unfavorable conditions in the working culture of each individual (Richard, 2013). There is consistence in some positions in terms of probability of filling the positions. These factors include demand for products offered by the industry, the conditions of workplace, the levels of wages, remunerations and salaries (Maslow, 2013). The market level and level of competition are among the external factors affecting workplace supply. The industrial relation information to be considered in this case are rights and responsibilities of the workers. The workers have a right to proper working condition that will not affect their health. Again, they have rights on timeframe for work (Marylene, 2014). They should not be exploited the employer. On the other hand, the responsibilities for these workers include delivery of tasks in the appropriate time by hitting the set targets. Government policies governing JKL industry and other industry typically revolve licensing process. No industry will be allowed by law to operate illegally. This is done to monitor the taxation processes as well as protecting end users of industrial products. The summary review the following aspects. To begin with, the industry mode of agreement with internal labour resources. If the industry offer a proper and appropriate working environment with internal labour resources, then the supply of workforce is likely to increase because many of these workers have great attraction on the conditions of their workplace. If these conditions are risky to the workers, then many of internal labour resources will be discouraged from working for JKL industries. In return, the number of workforce supply will reduce tremendously. Skilled and diverse workforce are of great importance for the industry. This is achieve by hiring professional and experts in different work positions. The prediction of labour supply must be proportional to sales to be made and demand of product by potential consumers. External conditions will include competition and other government policies (Kanungo Manuel, 2014). The time series analysis will be appropriate in attaining future demand as a technique to predict future demands. The recommendations that fit JKL industry are promotion of working culture in all positions. If this is done without discriminating any position, then the industry will achieve all the objectives. From FY 2016-17, the probability of filling specific positions will be driven by an objective based on developing skills and organizational capability. In order to raise the probability of filling these positions, it is important for JKL industry to promote skills of workers via training and empowering working culture. Organizational capability can be obtained via motivation of management team composed of positions of senior managers and branch managers. The objective of retaining skilled labor can be addressed via application of certain strategies. JKL industry need to revisit the reasons for exit from specific staff positions. Other than normal retirement, other reasons of exit need to be reduced to retain skilled labour. Workforce diversity can be rated based on the probability of refilling certain position once some staffs exit the industry. The higher the probability, the more diversified is workforce. To promote this diversity, JKL industries need to cultivate the power of working culture and tenacity. All the staffs need to be recognized in the industry since their effort cannot be underestimated. This will promote diversity to both males and females across all positions in the industry. This will in return increase probability of refilling positions. To retain the supply of workforce, the best strategy is to promote diversified workforce that cut across all position by considering both males and females in equal chances. To refill position upon exit, the strategy that fit objective is to market the position across all interested and potential workforce. To promote diversity in workforce, the strategy is to ensure workforce culture is adhered to. This can as well be achieved via recruitment of skilled workforce who will not leave any gap in the industry. Your proposed process for developing detailed targets consistent with objectives in consultation with managers. The process that can be applied in this case is objective oriented. This process must integrate the decisions made by managers and objectives outlined. This is achieved by promoting the working conditions and workforce culture. The process also involve team work among all the stakeholders of the industry. The following communication strategy will be used by the following stakeholders. Senior management. We will apply communication strategy of deployment of tasks to junior workers (Arnold, 2010). Senior management can apply authoritative communication strategy to deploy tasks to junior workers. Line management. The communication strategy applied here is similar to that of senior management to monitor the work done by junior staffs. Communication strategy applied here is submission strategy when submitting tasks to senior management. Risk management and contingency plan. From the assertions of appendix 3, it is important to develop risk management and contingency plan for JKL industries. Workforce objective Risk likelihood Risk consequence To make huge sales in all markets. The demand and supply mechanism inconsistency. There could be oversupply and under demand in the market. To meet set targets in due time. Over exploitation of industrial workers. This may demoralize the workers and may affect output. Workforce objective Risk mitigation strategy and contingency plan To make huge sales in all markets. Make sure the demand and supply mechanisms correlate to avoid straining resources. To meet set targets in due time. Offer overtime remunerations to workers so as to motivate them in their performance. To achieve competitive advantage Through mergers and acquisitions. References Arnold, J. (2010). Coaching Skills for Leaders in the Workplace: How to Develop, Motivate and Get the Best from Your Staff. How to Books. Kanungo, R.N., Manuel, M. (2014). Work Motivation: Models for Developing Countries. Sage Publication put. Marylene, G. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Work Engagement, Motivation and Self-Determination Theory. OUP USA. Maslow, A.H. (2013). A Theory of Human Motivation. Start publishing LLC. McGregor, D. (2012). The Human Side of Enterprise. New Yolk, 21. Richard, A. (2013). Job Satisfaction from Herzbergs Two Factor Theory Perspective. Grin publishing. Ryan, R.M., Deci, EL. (2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Need in Motivation, development and Wellness. The Guilford press. Thomas, K.W. (2009). Intrinsic Motivation: What Really Drives Employees Engagement. Berret-Koehler publishers.

Carrefour Strategic Management

Executive Summary Carrefour has been a major player in the UAE, where it exists as a partnership between Carrefour parent company and Majid Al Futtaim group. The report shows that there is a major opportunity in online shopping, and with its large inventory of products and a well-coordinated supply chain, the company is in a good position to take advantage of the online trend.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Carrefour Strategic Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It can do so by setting up an elaborate e-commerce platform that allows shoppers in the UAE to order goods to their respective addresses within the country. The report also identifies threat of rivalry as the main competitive issue to consider. Meanwhile the biggest limitations for the company as its surging labor costs while one of the most viable solution is to work on supply chain efficiencies to increase profit margins and also win customers based on price discounts. Brief description of the organization This report covers Carrefour. This is an international retailer and it has several hypermarket chains that originated in France in 1957. The company has been actively moving towards dominating the global retail market with several new stores in most promising markets for the retail business around the world. Carrefour entered the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market in 1995 and it has been actively performing in the retail segment of the country. The company first entered into the country with a mission on expansion to the rest of the Middle East. In Dubai, it relies on a joint venture with Majid Al Futtaim group that allows it to grow rapidly and cover the entire country and its neighbors (Carrefour UAE para. 1-4). External analysis Current and potential opportunities Customers can shop on the company’s e-commerce website and then pick their mode of delivery. An option could be a hybrid of e-commerce and tradition al shopping. In this case, customers will shop online but after making payment, they will go to the store to collect their goods after they are packaged. The advantage of the strategy is that it reduces the time needs to process payments as the customer does not have to queue. The company recently established a web store for its UAE market that allows customers to shop and pay for goods with various electronic payment solutions such as credit cards and PayPal. The store offers customers with a wide selection of goods that are also in its physical outlets. Customers are able to use the website to move virtually through the store to know what to expect when they are physically in the store. The company’s online website is not very competitive compared to other global retail brands such as Amazon.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is a big opportunity of using the r eputation of Carrefour as a global retailer to promote the presence of its UAE online store. This should lead to increased sales and more customer intelligence that can help the company come up with new strategies on being ahead of the competition in meeting customer needs. Carrefour can work with local suppliers to recognize local products and allow its customers to contribute to the development of community sensitive projects. For example, it can use its product origin and traceability systems to include a made-locally label that allows customers to make purchase decisions based on their need to support local businesses in the UAE. This strategy will help the firm increase its reputation as a caring and development partner for the economy of the UAE. It will also enable the firm to reduce the power that local suppliers have against it in market dynamics. With the strategy, Carrefour will obtain an upper negotiating position for goods pricing, and this will go towards increasing it s ability to offer discounts to price-sensitive shoppers. Current and potential threats The current threat facing Carrefour comes from its competition. Business rivalry threatens the market share of the company and its profit margin. Should the company continue operating with its present strategy and scale of the business, it risks losing a significant portion of its market to new entrants that already have a global presence, as well as local retail companies. The major cities in the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi are home to many expatriate workers. This significant population is also a key attraction for retail chains that seek to achieve a Middle East success with the UAE as their main center of operation. They see the market is ripe for investments because of its high labor supply for the industry and its high disposable income that can support businesses growth (Scott para. 6-8). Despite the attractiveness of the region, economic growth slowdown has led to increased costs o f living for many people in the UAE as companies adjust their business forecasts and limit their expenditures. A slowdown in economic growth affects the disposable income of individuals and makes it more expensive to existing business to operate as costs of labor does not fall in accordance with economic performance. The Carrefour UAE operations have to consider the high cost of labor and raw materials such as packing bags given that cheap plastic bags are not usable in UAE (Salma para. 1-2). While hiring talents employees is important, the business must also consider additional options for outsourcing to ensure that it does not remain exposed to the recurrent cost expenditure in a significant way.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Carrefour Strategic Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Impact of national culture and conditions on the organization National culture affects the employment relations and norm al business operations. The company has to follow Islamic timings for its store opening and closing. It also observes local religious holidays and moral practices when dealing with human resource issues. Internal analysis Strengths and how they will be used The company has a global reputable brand and it will use the brand to increase its sales in the UAE. It is also the most internationalized retailer in the emirates and this helps it offer a rich global experience to its shoppers. It is able to attract local shoppers seeking to experience a global shopping outing and get items from many countries around the world. The internationalized concept also helps the firm attract new and talented staffs from around the world. It is able to sustain its position as preferred employer. The company dominates the top three positions of retail chains in the UAE and the global market. Its hypermarket strategy allows the company to offer a wide range of goods from all over the world. Being a big c ompany, the company has made numerous supply chain partnerships that allow it to offer its own-label portfolio. The range of products is in some of the fastest selling consumables in retail business and the products have created a market perception of price and quality by its customers. Its early mover advantage into the UAE market has also been helping the company grow fast as it is yet to face significant competition among the global retail brands. Therefore, many consumers in the UAE seeking to shop at a global recognized outlet (Carrefour UAE Para. 6-8). The company has been exploring strategic acquisitions as a growth strategy and it runs a multi-format strategy. It is able to sustain the sale of fresh food in all its outlets by working with reliable suppliers and ensuring that its staffs are well versed with all demands of a particular market. Maintaining close relationships with suppliers in all its services range enables the company to be able to respond to price changes and demand changes effectively. Its retail business succeeds because the company is able to consider many inputs in the cost of products such as the value of foreign currencies in the UAE and the cost of transportation and storage of various goods imported from around the world.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More With a target on the middle and low-income groups, the company sustains its operations by having its private label products that utilize economies of scale to sell at discounted prices.  Another strength of the company arises from the high quality trained staffs that is able to offer high quality maintenance services and customer care services throughout its business including its supermarket and hypermarkets. The company has a governance structure that allows both the local and global management departments to respond to emerging issues fast, and this should help it to tame any threats that it faces in the growing UAE retail market. Weaknesses and how they will be minimized The company lacks a comprehensive retail chain presence, this jeopardizes its strategy of benefiting from economies of scale, and offering discounts to its low-income shoppers suffers due to its limited retail presence. However, there are possibilities of limiting the business vulnerability.  The company has an option of entering into more deals with local real estate companies to ensure that it gains a retail presence in upcoming developments like malls within the UAE. Modern designated shopping areas are key attractions to shoppers of different kinds. They provide a company like Carrefour with the best option for growing its customer traffic in the medium-term. The company relies on its staffs to provide customers with a high quality experience. Any misunderstandings between staffs and customers, or negligence and bad behavior by staffs have the potential to ruin customer relations. The company continues to minimize this weakness by constantly training staffs. It also has elaborate supervision frameworks. The in-store supervisors and production monitoring systems also help to highlight staff shortcomings in customer care. Based on the results that Carrefour gets from its appraisal system, it is able to minimize the weakness of poor quality of service delivery by staffs. However, it s till has to continue with on-the-job training programs to ensure that new staffs quickly adapt to the company tradition. Training should also concentrate on equipping staffs with cultural skills that let them deal with the UAE customers according to their cultural background expectations. The global retail industry is moving to an online platform and the UAE as a market has become a prime location for embracing online shopping. Presence of high internet speeds and a significant number of customers who are conversant with internet technologies makes the country ideal for investment in online shopping. A major weakness for Carrefour is that is has been lagging in its approach to online shopping and could be missing its competitive advantages. The firm needs to develop an online presence so that it rapidly scales its presence in the short-term. Customers also expect the company to have a serviceable online strategy. Five-forces analysis Bargaining power of suppliers Carrefour has a maj or advantage over its suppliers because it has the potential to change its suppliers for various inputs. The brands sold in the retail outlets belonging to the company come from different suppliers. All suppliers have an intention to reach customers and the Carrefour business is a platform allowing them to do so. Therefore, there is high competition among the suppliers and this competition causes Carrefour to get the upper hand in bargaining. In addition to that, the company enjoys low switching costs for its supplies including the labor and other service providers. Any changes in pricing by suppliers will not lead to a significant strain by the company due to the possibility of changing service providers or supply chain partners. A high volume capacity that Carrefour offers to suppliers is makes it a preferred partner and this option motivates suppliers to enter into long-term discount agreements that allow Carrefour to operate profitable. In conclusion, suppliers lack bargaining p ower. Bargaining power of customers Customers to the retail outlets in UAE have nothing that ties them to a particular brand other than loyalty. They are free to shop anywhere and still get identical products. Many customers consider shopping convenience or the price of goods as the main influences of their purchase decisions. They also consider the distance to the store and the type of shopping that they are going to do. The availability of parking space is also an issue that can influence a buyer’s decision. In the e-commerce segment, customer consider the speed of loading a website, the ease of browsing the site and checkout, as well as the shipping options availed by the company. Based on the above understanding of the customer in UAE, Carrefour faces significant bargaining power from customers. It cannot increase the prices of items unless its rivals also do so. At the same time, it has to consider carefully areas for setting up its stores because of the foot and vehicle traffic potential. The store layout and the presence of amenities are other considerations that the company has to make, and in some instances, it may have to meet the cost of setting them up. Threat of existing rivalry The exit barriers for the business are low and weak firms can leave the UAE market without losing too much capital. At the same time, the strong firms have to keep investing in their potential growth to sustain their market share. Currently the UAE market has a high competition in the middle class retail market segment. The demand for retail store space is increasing as the population increases. Rivals are diversifying their targets with different stores for different market segments. Depending on the location of a store, a firm can target high net worth individuals or low-income spenders. On the other hand, the vacancy rates for retail space are low and this in an indication of high competition in the industry. Forecasts that show the retail business being immune t o the declining oil prices form part of the reasons why many businesses in the industry are increasing their investments. Carrefour UAE operations have to expand at every possible opportunity just to keep up with the growth trend; otherwise, the business will lose its market share (Oxford Business Group Para. 11). Threat of substitutes Many consumer product companies are opting to set up independent stores in popular malls around the city. At the same time, specialty stores in electronics, grocery, and furniture are also located in most malls that also have hypermarkets. Therefore, customers have a choice of where they can purchase their products. Nevertheless, the hypermarket option still allows customers to enjoy the convenience of all products being under one room. They can compare prices and enjoy a traditional shopping experience. In addition to that, in long-end market segments, hypermarkets win for their ability to offer store-branded product at a reduced price. Carrefour use s the same strategy and therefore only faces moderate threat from substitutes. Threat of new competitors The entry of new players in the UAE retail industry is eminent. However, new companies will likely target a city before expanding to the entire country. This gradual entry and expansion strategy gives established players like Carrefour time to respond with counter competitive strategies. In this regard, the threat of new competitors is moderate. The shortage of retail spaces in the major cities of the UAE is also a factor that weakens the threat by new competitors. However, competitors that have a strong global brand and an online presence can easily penetrate the market as customers adjust quickly to meet their preferences and need for identifies with people in other developed countries in North America and Europe. Efficiency A radio frequency identification solution for monitoring inventory within stores and along supply chains allows the company to meet its logistical demands. Its warehouses connect with its central logistics hub in Dubai and the company can manage purchase orders from the hub thus reducing communication lags. Quality Carrefour maintains a log of product movement throughout the processing and stocking in its outlets. It can pin point the position of a product in its supply chain and is able to determine the quality of the product at every stage of the retail process. Relying on reputable suppliers and training staffs on quality handling of products and customers ensures that they company builds on its competitive advantages. Innovation Carrefour UAE loyalty card is one of the innovative products by the company seeking to collect customer intelligence and increase repeat customer transactions. The shopping website targeting UAE customers is also an innovative approach at meeting customer expectation and bypassing limitations of a physical store presence in every part of the country. Customer responsiveness Presence on popular social media networks like Facebook allows Carrefour to respond to customer queries in a fast and informal ways that also works as a public relations activity. The company also maintains hotlines and customer desks at its physical stores to collect feedback and handle customer issues. Customers also have a self-service website platform to handle their queries and management of their cards. They can also manage their online shopping accounts without the need for a direct contact with a customer care representative. Discussion on distinctive competencies of the firm From the discussion presented in the preceding sections, Carrefour’s distinctive competencies are its own-label brands and its central hub logistics processing system. They offer the firm the ability to be different from the competition and to cut costs significantly. Rivalry is a major factor to consider in the firm’s business environment and an efficient logistics system allows Carrefour to be responsive enough to meet its competitive demands. However, rivals can copy logistics competencies even though they are costly. On the other hand, for rivals to develop successful own-label brands, they have to find capable manufacturing or processing and packaging partners. Above all, they will require a brand that has already developed. Carrefour already enjoys a global reputation that does well in the UAE and this makes its own-label products serve as a distinctive competitive advantage that cannot be copied easily. Does the organization have a differentiation strategy? Carrefour does not have a differentiation strategy overall. Nevertheless, the company targets different customer segments with different product ranges and uses in-store displays to effect the strategy. Strategic alliances that can benefit the organization The beneficial strategic alliances that can benefit the company are with service providers and supply chain partners. Providers of various technologies for retail business management su ch as monitoring solutions for stock and employees can help maintain high quality services and keep costs low. Such solutions would be expensive for the retailer to develop on its own. A partner providing the services is the best option. Another beneficial alliance would be made between the retailer and real estate companies. This can ensure that Carrefour gets the first option to set up stores in upcoming mall developments in all the UAE cities and avoid the space shortage threat. Should the organization go global, why or why not and how will this be achieved Already Carrefour is a global company, and its UAE subsidiary is one of the outlets in the Middle East. Expansion into more countries can come through partnerships, where local businesses provide resources while the retailer offers the brand and operation capabilities. Major problems or potential problems the organization should address Currently, Carrefour needs to address the lack of adequate marketing of its online shopping option. It must also come up with a long-term strategy of dealing with high cost of labor as it threatens to cut the profit margin and affect the business’ strategy for winning the low-end income market segment (Hubbard para. 3). The company also lacks a counter strategy for dealing with the onslaught of company branded stores that are setting up in malls throughout the UAE to target high-end customers with their branded consumer products mainly in the electronics and computers sectors. Many of the products in the category allow Carrefour to earn a high profit margin and losing the business segment would be catastrophic to its store’s performance. Recommendations for Carrefour Carrefour has to expand its investments in technology as a way to cut its reliance on staffs. With a shrink in current staff numbers or a freeze on hiring of new staff, the business will be able to manage its labor costs in the medium term. In addition, the company has to identify a real estate partner that has significant investment in retail business spaces in attractive locations in the UAE. Such a partner will enable Carrefour to expand rapidly. As a joint venture in the UAE, the business currently is in a position to use its local business networks to find more partners for achieving its objectives. Given that the business already enjoys considerable power over its suppliers, it can continue bargaining for discounts and other favorable trade terms that let it extend price bargains to its customers to stop them from moving to the branded stores that are threatening the dominance of Carrefour. Works Cited Carrefour UAE. About US. 2015. Web. Hubbard, Alison. Employment Issues in the UAE. 2012. Web. Oxford Business Group. Demand Strong for Abu Dhabi Retail Space. 2015. Web. Salma, Samir. â€Å"UAE Bans Non-biodegradable Plastic Products.† Gulfnews.com, 2013. Web. Scott, Andrew. â€Å"Dubai Builders Turn to Community Malls Anchored on Food Retailers Geant and Carre four.† The National Business,  2014. Web. This report on Carrefour Strategic Management was written and submitted by user Annabella K. to help you with your own studies. 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Barbie essays

Barbie essays Since the beginning of time, toys have often been an indicator of the way a society behaves, and how they interact with their children. For example, in ancient Greece, artifacts recovered there testify that children were simply not given toys to play with as in the modern world. The cruel ritual of leaving a sick child on a hillside for dead, seems to indicate a lack of attention to the young (Lord 16). The same is true of todays society. As you can see with the number of toy stores in our society, we find toys of great value to our lives and enjoy giving them to children as gifts. Ask just about any young girl what she wants for Christmas and youll undoubtedly get the same answer: A Barbie. But what exactly has caused this baby boomer Barbie craze, and how did the entire world get so caught up in it? The answer lies in Ruth Handlers vision for the first childrens adult doll. Mrs. Handlers eleven and one-half-inch chunk of plastic began causing problems even before its public debut in 1959, yet has managed to become one of Americas favorite dolls. Ruth Handler and her two young children, Barbara and Ken, were merely sightseeing in Lucerne, Switzerland, when Mrs. Handler first saw the doll she herself had been trying to create (Lord 29). In the window of a small gift shop was an eleven and one-half-inch tall plastic doll with a slender womans body and a long blond ponytail. Her name was Lilli (Bad Girl 1). She had been created from a cartoon character in a West German tabloid similar to the National Inquirer (Lord 8). Dressed provocatively, and with a seductive look in her eye, Lilli had become a popular pornographic gag gift for men (Bad Girl 1). Excited to see her long-time idea a reality, Mrs. Handler bought three of the dolls and hurried home to begin work on her own doll (Bad Girl 2). It was 1956, and within three years, Ma...