Philosophy of education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Philosophy of education - Essay Example Aristotle strongly believed that education has a potential to make a person live a happy life as it is through education that he learns to acquire, develop and evolve different virtues in life. Hence, he was of opinion that schooling should be provided publicly and should follow one method for all people in the society. Moreover, Aristotle’s belief that only that person who has better judgment, thoughtful observation and purpose in life is the happiest person, is true to a great extent as these are the qualities that helps in flowering human being’s personality and making him achieve his highest potential. Hence, it is extremely important to consider education as a pillar of human happiness and not just a means of gaining a ‘qualification’. However, Aristotle’s belief that education should be ‘one and the same for all’ is not applicable in today’s time. Science has evolved and developed to a great extend and has proved that different children have different intelligences and hence, need to be taught in different ways. I believe in this theory and would like to integrate it in future, if I get an opportunity to become a teacher. I aim to become a teacher and make learning in schools a joyful and fulfilling experience for children, as it was made for me by my teachers. I was fortunate to have inspirational and encouraging teachers in school. I loved going to school and enjoyed learning from my teachers. They have inspired me to aim for becoming an excellent teacher and contribute in building a strong educational foundation for children. While exploring different studies in the field of educational psychology, I came across some interesting ideas in articles by John Staddon and David Geary. John Staddon has pointed out that application of Skinner’s methods of ‘positive reinforcement’ and ‘operant behavior conditioning’ to the field of education, is not good for development of children. This is because the method of ‘operant behavior

Challenges of the Native American Essay Example for Free

Challenges of the Native American Essay Native American culture is in its downfall, due to the discrimination and dehumanization that Native Americans have faced. Native American culture revolves around a circle. They believe the most important aspects of life such as nature is based on circles. The repetition of life and death, their own families, and even the food chain are all examples of circles. These circles have been shattered by the discrepancies from white men in particular. Being kicked off their land and forced into reservations, Carlisle Schools, and substance abuse have broken the Native American circle. Authors like Sherman Alexie have displayed examples of these broken circles. His work has made our society aware of the discrimination the Native American culture has endured. Settlers viewed themselves as above the Native Americans resulting in conflicts between the two. These conflicts escalated, and the white settlers viewed Native Americans as a threat to the country. The U. S. government forced Native Americans onto land that was viewed unimportant, or of no value at all. This has broken their circle by forcing them away from their homeland and they had to restart their lives in a new land. This was the beginning of the downfall for the Native American culture and its circle. Schools were specifically designed to tear apart the Native American circle. The Carlisle School was founded by Richard Pratt in 1892 (Pavelic, Perelshstein 1). The school†s main goal was to convert young Native Americans to American lifestyle and culture. The school stripped Native American childrens culture away from them by converting them to Christianity, and forcing them to never use their native language (Pavelic, Perelshstein 1). By tearing the Native American culture out of the children, the culture is unable to pass on through them hence destroying the circle by not allowing their culture to be taught to future generations. After the discrimination and dehumanization from being kicked off their land and being forced into American culture, many Native Americans also began self-destructing due to substance abuse. Native Americans have the highest rate of substance abuse above any other race in the U. S. (Meir 1). These substances include alcohol, and harsher drugs such as methamphetamine. Substance abuse breaks the family circle because it leads to physical abuse, or abandoning of families displayed in the movie Smoke Signals. Many Native Americans use alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with all the pain they have to face. The abuse of alcohol shows the lack of hope, and shows them surrendering to the discrimination thus surrendering their dreams. By giving up on what they have wanted they fracture the circle of hope and happiness. Hope and happiness are two very important circles because they give people fuel to do great things. When one person is happy and has hope it will be contagious giving people joy. Without this circle the world would be a very tedious and weary place. Authors have made attempts to restore Native American culture and the broken circles. The book Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is novel about hope. Arnold Spirit who lives on a impoverished Native American reservation is the main character in the novel. He is bullied and physically beaten on a day to day basis and almost every adult on the reservation is an alcoholic including his parents. Arnold does not give up, he sees an opportunity to be uplifted from all of the hardships and he takes it. Sherman Alexie shows that hope, and willpower is what is needed in order to restore the circle. Sherman Alexie also wrote the screenplay to the movie called, Smoke Signals. This movie revolves around the fight of normal Native Americans to rise above stereotypes. Thomas-Builds-the-Fire and Victor Joseph are the main characters who set off to obtain Victors Dads ashes who abandoned Victor when he was young. Their problem is that it is hard to discover who they really are because of all the stereotypes that tear them apart. Victor asks Thomas how many times he had seen Dances with Wolves. A hundred, two hundred times? Oh, jeez, you have seen it that many times, havent you? Man, do you think that shit is real? God. Dont you even know how to be a real Indian? Thomas responded saying, I guess not. Victor then went on to tell Thomas to look more stoic and not to smile like an idiot. This scene is an example of how Victor rejects stereotypes, yet embraces them. He does not know who he is, if he is like a stoic Native American, or if he is just like everyone else in the world. In the end, Thomas and Victor manage to discover themselves and to surpass their confusion regarding their identity induced by the stereotypical image others have of them. Thomas helps Victor by showing him not all people are bad and untrustworthy. Thomas teaches Victor to forgive and forget which helps Victor forgive his father. Thomas would tell Victor good stories about how great his dad was which leads to Victor cutting off his hair because he is ashamed of how he felt towards his father. Cutting off ones hair was a Native American ceremony used to show regret. Sherman Alexie has impacted the Native American culture with his award winning book Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and his screenplay for the movie Smoke Signals. He has impacted their culture by showing the world examples of broken circles and has given hope to the Native Americans. The Native Americans circle has been broken by stereotypes, dehumanization, and discrimination of the past and the present. Each has torn apart the Native American culture leaving a permanent mark. Most Native Americans have no hope regarding any change to their broken culture. The high rate of substance abuse among Native Americans shows the lack of hope, and the acceptance of such a broken culture. Those who seek hope such as Sherman Alexie, have been successful. He displays his hope in the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and in the movie, Smoke Signals. Ultimately, hope is the key that unlocks the broken circles that Native Americans have been overtaken by.

Animal Rights Speech :: essays research papers

Our case is that if we don’t test on animals then progress in scientific fields would be halted. As first speaker for the negative I will speak about the benefits of animal testing in general and then I’ll talk in detail about animal testing in medicine. My second speaker will talk about the opinions on testing and the food chain and my third speaker will summarise our points and rebut. Safety tests are conducted on a wide range of chemicals and products, including drugs, vaccines, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides, foodstuffs, and packing materials. Higher order animals are used in research, teaching and testing because of the benefits they bring to both animals and people. Those benefits are the reasons why a research, teaching or testing procedure is done in the first place. Research using animals has various broad aims which include: Safety tests are conducted on a wide range of chemicals and products, including drugs, vaccines, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides, foodstuffs, and packing materials. Higher order animals are used in research, teaching and testing because of the benefits they bring to both animals and people. Those benefits are the reasons why a research, teaching or testing procedure is done in the first place. Research using animals has various broad aims which include: Improving the health and well-being of people. Improving the health, welfare and productivity of farm animals and other production animals. Finding better ways to preserve protect and manage a range of animal species to maintain a balance that is ecologically stable. Developing more humane and effective pest control methods to protect endangered animals and many more. Doctors, nurses, animal care personnel, veterinarians, farmers, conservation managers, teachers, zoo keepers and others engaged in animal-related activities all benefit in animal research to broaden their knowledge. Testing is done as a check on the safety of new drugs or substances for human or animal use, and to check whether new batches of drugs and other agents like vaccines work. There is a legal requirement to test how safe and effective chemicals, drugs and other agents are before they can be sold. Animals have played a major part in medical breakthroughs. Such as the development of anesthetics, which are the chemicals used to make you unconscious during an operation. . Before that surgery was little more than refined butchery. Amputations, removal of bladder stones, caesarean sections and others – were done with the conscious patient strapped to the operating table and screaming.

Case Study of Starbucks

When the announcement was made in mid 2008 that Starbucks would be closing nearly three-quarters of its 84 Australian stores there was mixed reaction. Some people were shocked, others were triumphant. Journalists used every pun in the book to create a sensational headline, and it seemed everyone had a theory as to what went wrong. This case outlines the astounding growth and expansion of the Starbucks brand worldwide, including to Australia. It then shifts focus to describe the extent of the store closures in Australia, before offering several reasons for the failure and lessons that others might learn from the case. . Background Founded in 1971, Starbucks' first store was in Seattle's Pike Place Market. By the time it went public in 1992, it had 140 stores and was expanding at a breakneck pace, with a growing store count of an extra 40-60% a year. Whilst former CEO Jim Donald claimed that â€Å"we don't want to take over the world†, during the 1990s and early 2000s, Starbucks were opening on average at least one store a day (Palmer, 2008). In 2008 it was claimed to be opening seven stores a day worldwide.Not surprisingly, Starbucks is now the largest coffee chain operator in the world, with more than 15,000 stores in 44 countries, and in 2007, accounted for 39% of the world's total specialist coffee house sales (Euromonitor, 2008a). In North America alone, it serves 50 million people a week, and is now an indelible part of the urban landscape. But just how did Starbucks become such a phenomenon? Firstly, it successfully Americanised the European coffee tradition – something no other coffee house had done previously.Before Starbucks, coffee in its current form (latte, frappacino, mocha, etc. ) was alien to most US consumers. Secondly, Starbucks did not just sell coffee – it sold an experience. As founding CEO Howard Schultz explained, â€Å"We are not in the coffee business serving people, we're in the people business serving coffee† (Schultz and Yang, 1997). This epitomised the emphasis on customer service such as making eye contact and greeting each customer within 5 seconds, cleaning tables promptly and remembering the names of regular customers.From inception, Starbucks' purpose was to reinvent a commodity with a sense of romance, atmosphere, sophistication and sense of community (Schultz and Yang, 1997). Next, Starbucks created a ‘third place' in people's lives – somewhere between home and work where they could sit and relax. This was a novelty in the US where in many small towns cafe culture consisted of filter coffee on a hot plate. In this way, Starbucks positioned itself to not only sell coffee, but also offer an experience. It was conceived as a lifestyle cafe.The establishment of the cafe as a social hub, with comfortable chairs and music has been just as important a part of the Starbucks brand as its coffee. All this came with a premium price. While people were aware that the beverages at Starbucks were more expensive than at many cafes, they still frequented the outlets as it was a place ‘to see and be seen'. In this way, the brand was widely accepted and became, to an extent, a symbol of status, and everyone's must-have accessory on their way to work.So, not only did Starbucks revolutionise how Americans drank coffee, it also revolutionised how much people were prepared to pay. Consistency of product across stores, and even national boundaries, has been a hallmark of Starbucks. Like McDonald's, Starbucks claims that a customer should be able to visit a store anywhere in the world and buy a coffee exactly to specification. This sentiment is echoed by Mark Ring, CEO of Starbucks Australia who stated â€Å"consistency is really important to our customers †¦ a consistency in the product . . . he overall experience when you walk into a cafe . . . the music . . . the lighting . . . the furniture . . . the person who is working the bar†. So, whilst th ere might be slight differences between Starbucks in different countries, they all generally look the same and offer the same product assortment. One way this is ensured is by insisting that all managers and partners (employees) undergo 13 weeks of training – not just to learn how to make a coffee, but to understand the nuances of the Starbucks brand (Karolefski, 2002) and how to deliver on its promise of a service experience.The Starbucks formula also depends on location and convenience. Starbucks have worked under the assumption that people are not going to visit unless it's convenient, and it is this assumption that underlies their highly concentrated store coverage in many cities. Typically, clusters of outlets are opened, which has the effect of saturating a neighbourhood with the Starbucks brand. Interestingly, until recently, they have not engaged in traditional advertising, believing their large store presence and word-ofmouth to be all the advertising and promotion t hey need.Starbucks' management believed that a distinctive and memorable brand, a product that made people ‘feel good' and an enjoyable delivery channel would create repeat business and customer loyalty. Faced with near-saturation conditions in the US – by 2007 it commanded 62% of the specialist coffee shop market in North America (Table 1 ) – the company has increasingly looked overseas for growth opportunities.As part of this strategy, Starbucks opened its first Australian store in Sydney in 2000, before expanding elsewhere within New South Wales and then nationwide (albeit with 90% of stores concentrated in just three states: NSW, Victoria and Queensland). By the end of 2007 Starbucks had 87 stores, enabling it to control 7% of the specialist coffee shop market in Australasia (Table 1 ). By 2008, consumer awareness of Starbucks in Australia was 90% (Shoebridge, 2008), with each outlet selling, on average, double the number of coffees (270 a day) than the rest of Australia's coffee shops (Lindhe, 2008). . Expansion into Asia Starbucks currently operates in 44 markets and even has a small presence in Paris – birthplace and stronghold of European cafe culture. Beyond North America, it has a very significant share of the specialist coffee shop market in Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America (Table 1) and these regions make strong revenue contributions (Table 2). It is in Asia that they see the most potential for growth as they face increasing competitive pressure in their more traditional markets.Half the international stores Starbucks plans to operate in the next decade will be in Asia (Euromonitor, 2006; Browning, 2008). Indeed, Starbucks has done well in international markets where there has not traditionally been a coffee drinking culture, namely Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and China. In effect it has been responsible for growing the category in these markets. The first Starbucks outside the US opened in Tokyo in 1996, and since then, Starbucks' Japanese stores have become twice as profitable as the US stores.Unsurprisingly then, Japan is Starbucks' best performing overseas market outside North America. More than 100 new stores open each year in Japan, and coffee is now more popular than tea in terms of both volume and value (Lee, 2003; see also Uncles, 2008). As opposed to their entry into the Australian market, Starbucks made small changes to its formula for the Japanese market; for example, the invention of a green tea frappucino, and the provision of smaller drinks and pastries to conform to local tastes.Starbucks arrived in China in 1998 and by 2002 had 50 outlets, and 165 outlets by 2006 (BBC News, 2006), quickly becoming the nation's leading coffee chain. Starbucks now sees China as its key growth market due to the size and preferences of the emerging middle class. In the Asia-Pacific region, Starbucks command of the specialist coffee shop market grew from 15% in 2002 to 19% in 2007 (refer to Table 2). The total market for cafes in China grew by over 135% between 1999 and 2004 to reach US$2. 6 billion.It is projected to grow another 144% by 2008 to reach US$6. 4 billion in sales. More specialty coffee shops are opening across China as a middle class with strong purchasing power emerges, although this rise in coffee consumption is highly concentrated in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Starbucks has said that it expects China to become its biggest market after the US and the plan is to open 100 stores a year (Euromonitor, 2006). Significantly, certain Western brands are valued by Chinese consumers and Starbucks appears to be one of them.A growing number of China's 500 million urbanites favour Starbucks for its ambience, which is seen as an important signal of service quality, and Starbucks' design concept rests easily with China's consumers, who tend to lounge with friends while sipping coffee. Its outlets in China frequently maintain larger seating a reas than average outlets in other countries, and plush chairs and davenports are provided to accommodate crowds that linger. However, success for Starbucks in China is not a given, and they will face several challenges in the coming years.China's accession to the WTO has led to the gradual relaxation of the policy governing foreign-owned retail outlets, and this will lead to more foreign investment and thereby competition (Lee, 2004). Several multinationals are engaged in selling coffee (including KFC, McDonald's, Yoshinoya, and Manabe), and a number of local brands have recently emerged, some even imitating Starbucks' distinctive green and white logo and its in-store ambience (notably Xingbake in Shanghai). Furthermore, the reduction of import tariffs on coffee will also encourage foreign investment in coffee. . The Australian retail coffee industry Australia's taste for coffee is a by-product of the waves of immigrants arriving on the country's shores following World War II. Euro pean migrants, predominantly Greeks and Italians, were the first to establish the coffee culture, which was later embraced more widely in the 1 980s. For decades Australians enjoyed a variation of the ‘lifestyle coffee experience' that Starbucks created from scratch in the US. Australians did not need to be introduced to the concept of coffee as many other countries did.Savouring a morning cup of coffee was already a ritual for many consumers. It is fair to describe Australia's coffee culture as mature and sophisticated, so when Starbucks entered Australia in 2000, a thriving urban cafe culture was already in place. This established culture saw Australians typically patronise smaller boutique style coffee shops, with people willing to travel out of their way for a favoured cup of coffee, especially in Melbourne where coffee has developed an almost cult-like following.For Australians, coffee is as much about relationships as it is about the product, suggesting that an impersona l, global chain experience would have trouble replicating the intimacy, personalisation and familiarity of a suburban boutique cafe. Furthermore, through years of coffee drinking, many Australians, unlike American or Asian consumers, have developed a sophisticated palate, enjoying their coffee straighter and stronger, and without the need to disguise the taste with flavoured, syrupy shots. This love of coffee is easily quantified. The Australian market is worth $3 billion, of which $1. billion relates to the coffee retailing market. For every cup of coffee consumed out of home, two cups are consumed at home (AustraIAsian Specialty Coffee Association, 2006). Per capita consumption is now estimated at 2. 3 kg-twice as much as 30 years ago. Whilst Australians are among the highest consumers of instant coffee in the world, they are increasingly buying coffee out of the home (Euromonitor, 2008c). More than 1 billion cups of coffee are consumed in cafes, restaurants and other outlets each year, representing an increase of 65% over the last 10 years.Even between 2000 and 2005, trade sales of coffee have increased about 18%. In 2007, the growth in popularity of the cafe culture resulted in trade volume sales growing at an annual rate of 5%. Some 31% of the coffee sold through foodservice is takeaway, and it is thought that ‘fast coffee' will be a growth area in future years (Euromonitor, 2008d). There is also a trend towards larger takeaway sizes, with 400 ml cups increasing in popularity (Euromonitor, 2008d). One might argue that Starbucks drove these trends, especially in regards to larger sizes.There are almost 14,000 cafes and restaurants serving a variety of coffee types in Australia, and during 2006/07, they generated $9. 7 billion in income (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). However, despite these statistics, the coffee business does not guarantee success. As Paul Irvine, co-founder of Gloria Jean's notes, â€Å"Australia is a tough retail market a nd coffee retailing is particularly tough†. According to official statistics, the cafe business is not always profitable, with the net profitability of cafes falling to about 4%.For a cafe to be successful, it has to offer marginally better coffee than local competitors, and do so consistently. Coffee drinkers in Australia are discerning, and they will go out of their way to purchase a good cup of coffee. They are not as easily persuaded as people from other countries simply to visit their nearest cafe. Secondly, for a cafe to make a profit, it needs to turn over 15 kg of coffee a week The national average is 11 kg, so a cafe has to be above average to begin with to even make a profit. Any newcomer needs to understand this before entering the market.The other significant constraint on profitability is the cost of hiring baristas, with a good one costing between $1000 and $1500 a week (Charles, 2007). However, it seems that this is a necessary cost in order to deliver a superio r product. The question that then begs to be asked is: How well did Starbucks understand this existing coffee culture? Did they under-estimate the relational aspect of coffee purchasing in Australia, as well as the importance of the quality of ingrethents and the skills of the person making each cup?Did they overestimate the value consumers attach to the in-store experience and the ‘third place' concept? Or did they just look at the statistics regarding coffee consumption and think that operating in Australia was a license to print money? Did they simply see Australia as the next logical step to global domination? Starbucks has 87% of the US specialty coffee shop market, and only now is it beginning to feel pressure from non-traditional competitors such as Dunkin Donut, 7 Eleven, McCafe and Krispy Kreme (Burritt, 2007).However, in Australia, the competitive landscape is different. Gloria Jean's dominates the high-street part of the coffee retailing market and McCafe dominates the convenience end (Shoebridge, 2008). Other significant competitors include The Coffee Club and Wild Bean Cafe (an add-on to BP petrol stations) and Hudson's Coffee (see Table 3). All offer a similar in-store experience to Starbucks, with McCafe from 2007 onwards refurbishing many McDonald's stores to imitate the Starbucks' experience, albeit at the economy end of the market. 5. Growth grinds to a halt . . . store closuresIn recent times however things have started to go wrong for Starbucks. Internationally, company earnings declined as cashstrapped consumers faced record petrol prices and rising interest rates meaning they have had to pull back on gourmet coffee and other luxuries. Sales fell 50% in the last 2 years, the US share price fell more than 40% over the past year and profits dropped 28% (Bawden, 2008; Coleman-Lochner and Stanford, 2008; Mintz, 2008). Consequently, Howard Schultz, the founder and chairman of Starbucks, resumed the position of CEO in 2008 with the aim of revitalising the business.He slowed the pace at which stores were opened (and in fact closed more stores than he will open in the coming year), introduced key performance targets (KPTs) and an employee rewards system in the US, and simultaneously shut down every store in America for three and a half hours of staff training (Muthukumar and Jain, 2008). Customer-oriented initiatives have included the addition of more food, the launch of the Starbucks card and Starbucks express, and the provision of high-speed wi-fi internet access (Hota, 2008).Notably, Schultz acknowledges that the company's focus has been more on expansion than on customer service – the very thing that was at the heart of its unique value proposition. However, it seems that these measures were too late for the Australian operation. On 29th July 2008, Starbucks announced that it would be closing 61 of its 84 Australian stores (i. e. , 73%) by August 2008, resulting in a loss of 685 jobs. All of these stores had been under-performing (8 were in SA, ACT and Tasmania, 28 in NSW, 17 in Victoria and 8 in Queensland).This decline of Starbucks in Australia was not as sudden as many would have us believe and in fact some reports (Edwards and Sainsbury, 2008; Shoebridge, 2008) indicated that by late 2007 Starbucks already had: * accumulated losses of $143 million; * a loss of $36 million for that financial year; * lost $27. 6 million the previous financial year; * loans of $72. 3 million from Starbucks in the US; * was only surviving because of its US parent's support. These closures saw 23 stores kept open in prime locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But this begs the question: can a 23-store chain be viable for the brand in the long-term?Based on the approximate numbers in Table 3, Starbucks had a 6% share of stores in Australia before the closures; this has now fallen to a share below 2%. Even before the closures, Australasia represented only 1% of company sales (Table 2) and now the f igure is expected to be much lower. This may not make much commercial sense as it will be difficult to achieve economies of scale in terms of marketing and purchasing, and such small numbers are totally out of step with the clustering strategy adopted in its strongest markets -the US, Japan and China.However, it could also be argued that with Starbucks' strategy of global domination, it is unlikely that it will ever close its Australian business entirely. Whilst Starbucks' management have been keen to suggest that â€Å"this decision represents business challenges unique to the Australian market and in no way reflects the state of the Starbucks business in countries outside of the United States†, the US market has also suffered. By September 2008, 600 stores had closed (or were due for closure), with about 12,000 workers, or 7% of Starbucks' global workforce affected (Mintz, 2008).It should be noted that the situation in the US has only worsened as a result of the global fina ncial crisis. 6. So what went wrong? Opinions abound as to why Starbucks failed in Australia. Our research suggests there is some truth to many of these opinions. Whilst the troubled economy might seem an easy scapegoat, with people tightening their belts and eating out less, it is unlikely that this was the core problem as evidenced by the continuing growth of their competitors. Indeed, coffee is no longer considered a luxury item by many Australians, but rather an affordable part of their daily routine.Instead, there is substantial evidence to suggest a number of factors combined to bring about Starbucks' demise. 6. 1. Starbucks overestimated their points of differentiation and customer perceived value of their supplementary services â€Å"I just think the whole system, the way they serve, just didn't appeal to the culture we have here† Andrew Mackay, VP of the Australian Coffee Traders Association, in Martin (2008) Whilst there was initial curiosity and hype about Starbuck s, after trying it, many Australians quickly found that it failed to offer a particularly unique experience that was not offered by other chains or cafes.Given the strong established coffee culture and discerning palates of Australians, the core product – coffee – was not seen as particularly different from, say, a latte or short black from a good suburban barista, Gloria Jean's or Coffee Club. Its point of difference in Australia, where a coffee culture already existed, had to be in its supplementary or value-adding services – i. e. , its unique servicescape, engaging customer service, brand image and so on (Lovelock et al. , 2007).But was this worth a premium price, especially as the competition began replicating Starbucks in-store experience? Starbucks has since been harshly criticised by Australian consumers and the media. Their coffee has been variously described as ‘a watered down product', ‘gimmicky', and consisting of ‘buckets of milk'. These are not the labels you would choose to describe a coffee that aspires to be seen as a ‘gourmet' product. It has also been criticised for its uncompetitive pricing, even being described as â€Å"one of the most over-priced products the world has ever seen† (Martin, 2008).Even the idea of the third place has come under criticism – â€Å"why would you want to sit around a pretend lounge room drinking a weak and expensive coffee when you can go around the corner and have the real thing? † (Wailes, 2008). It seems that Starbucks' rapid expansion, its omnipresence, somewhat standardised store design and recent insistence on staff achieving various sales KPTs (key performance targets) such as serving ‘x' customers per hour, all combined to diminish the instore experience. The introduction of sales targets for front-line employees, for example, meant staff and baristas had less time to engage with customers.It began to stray too far from its roots and the very values upon which the brand was built. Some of these actions were forced upon Starbucks by emerging competitors seeking to imitate the brand, and thus gain a slice of the ever growing lifestyle coffee market. Starbucks' points of differentiation were systematically being eroded and, in a sense, the brand that taught the world that coffee is not a commodity was itself becoming one. 6. 2. Declining service quality The brand has also come under fire for declining customer service as it continued to expand.For example, the quality of baristas is said to have declined as Starbucks widened its pool of applicants in order to meet demand at new stores. Can a 17 year old high school student really compete with a boutique trained barista with a passion for coffee? By not offering a better experience and product than emerging direct competitors, Starbucks found itself undermined by countless high street cafes and other chains that were selling stronger brews at lower prices and often offering better or equal hospitality.Whilst they may have pioneered the idea of a ‘third place', it was an easy idea to copy, and even easier to better by offering superior coffee, ambience and service. Now, with so many coffee chains around, Starbucks have little point of differentiation, even wi-fi internet access has become commonplace across all types of cafe. Furthermore, while customers were offered promotional rewards for returning to Starbucks, the card-based scheme is no more sophisticated than equivalent me-too cards at Gloria Jean's, Coffee Club, Hudson's and many independent cafes.And as noted earlier, one of the things that set Starbucks apart from the competition – i. e. , acknowledging customers (often by name for regulars) within a few seconds of entering the store and seriously engaging with them, began to unravel when Starbucks imposed both customer service and sales targets for its cafes. The imposition of these targets plus an ever widening range an d complexity of coffees to remember and make to perfection, meant staff morale and inevitably customer service levels declined. In fact in the USA some staff were so disillusioned with the imposition of sales targets because it meant they simply didn't have time to engage with customers) they posted blogs openly stating that Starbucks had lost its way. Finally, it appears that Starbucks were not even delivering on their core promise of serving superior coffee in comfortable surroundings, thus justifying its premium price. By switching to vacuum packaged coffee, consumers are denied the store-filling aroma of the coffee beans. The switching of traditional coffee machines to automated espresso machines (which can make coffees 40% faster and move customers through the lines more quickly), has also resulted in a loss of ‘theatre' (Grove et al. 2000) for people wanting to see their coffee made that way and has also had implications for taste. In-store, it has been noted that there are fewer soft chairs and less carpeting, and Starbucks recently lost ground in the ‘service and surroundings' category of the Brand Keys 2007 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (Cebrzynski, 2008). It seems that Starbucks is now less about the quality of the coffee, and is more about the convenience of faster service and being on every corner – whilst still charging a premium. 6. 3. Starbucks ignored some golden rules of international marketingIronically, it seems that the very thing that made Starbucks successful in the first place, its ability to adjust the original (European) business model and coffee tradition to local (US) conditions, is the thing that let it down. Whilst Starbucks has made minor changes to its menu in countries such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, it generally offers the same products all around the world. When the company came to Australia, it brought its ‘American' offering, simply bringing what worked in the US and applying it here, without rea lly understanding the local market.But with more than 235 ethnicities speaking more than 270 languages and dialects, companies wanting to get ahead in Australia need to be aware that they are not dealing with one homogeneous market. Unfortunately what worked in the US was â€Å"bitter, weak coffee augmented by huge quantities of milk and sweet flavoured syrups. Not so much coffee, as hot coffee-based smoothies†. For the Australian consumer raised on a diet of real espresso, this was always going to be a tough sell (Mescall, 2008) As McDonald's Australia chief executive Peter Bush noted, US retailers that have had trouble making it work in Australia (e. . , Starbucks, Denny's, Arby's, Taco Bell) are those that have â€Å"introduced formulae developed for US palates and for the US way of doing business . . . These formulae have, at best, modest relevance in Australia†. Peter Irvine, co-founder of Gloria Jean's, also noted that â€Å"US retailers often arrive in Australi a thinking the size of their overseas chains and the strength of their brands in other markets will make it easy for them to crack the local market. Their focus is on global domination rather than the needs of the local consumers†.Further, there is a strong sense in Australia of buying local, supporting the community, having relationships with the people you buy from, and supporting ethically-minded businesses. Starbucks clashed completely with that, whereas local stores can differentiate themselves as being local and non-corporate. Furthermore, some would argue that Starbucks has become a caricature of the American way of life and many Australians reject that iconography. Many are simply not interested in the ‘super-size' culture of the extra-large cups, nor want to be associated with a product that is constantly in the hands of movie stars. 6. 4.Expanding too quickly and forcing themselves upon an unwilling public In the US, Starbucks started in Seattle as a single sto re. In a nation bereft of a genuine cafe culture, that single store captured people's imagination, and soon became a second store, quickly followed by a third. Before long, Starbucks had become a demand-driven phenomenon, with everyone wanting a Starbucks in their local area. McDonald's grew exactly the same way in Australia, opening just one or two stores in each city – nowhere near enough to meet demand – thus creating an almost artificial scarcity, which created huge buzz around the brand experience.Krispy Kreme did the same. But when Starbucks opened in Australia, they immediately tried to impose themselves with multiple store openings in every city – adopting the US-model of expansion through store clusters. Australians were not given a chance to ‘discover' it. As Mescali (2008) points out â€Å"they took key sites, hung huge signs, made us order coffee in sizes and gave the coffees weird names. Starbucks said to us – ‘that's not how you drink coffee. This is how you drink coffee'†.They took the Coca-Cola strategy of being available wherever people looked, but this quickly led to market saturation. Their expansion did not hurt their competitors so much as themselves, and they found themselves cannibalising their own stores. Furthermore, by becoming too common, the company violated the economic principles of cultural scarcity and the novelty wore off. By having too many outlets, becoming too commercial and too widely used, it began to lose its initial appeal of status and exclusivity. It began to have a mass brand feel, certainly not the warm feeling of a neighbourhood cafe.Furthermore, they became more reliant on less affluent consumers who now, with a worsening economy, are spending less, making Starbucks more vulnerable to economic fluctuations. 6. 5. Entering late into a highly competitive market â€Å"In America, Starbucks is a state of mind. In Australia, it was simply another player. † Barry Urqu hart, quoted in Delaney (2008) From Day I1 Starbucks got off on the back foot. They lacked the first-mover advantage they had in the US and Asia, finding themselves the late entrant in an already very developed, sophisticated and competitive market.Indeed, the competitive landscape in the Australian retail coffee market is very different to that of other countries. Here, Starbucks found themselves competing with hundreds of independent cafes and speciality coffee chains (see Table 3), where the coffee was generally better and the staff knew their customers by name. Significantly, they were also the last of the major chains to gain a presence in Australia. 6. 6. Failing to communicate the brand Worldwide, Starbucks rarely employs above-the-Iine promotion, and this was also the case in Australia.Instead, they maintained that their stores are the core of the business and that they do not need to build the brand through advertising or promotion. Howard Shultz often preached, â€Å"Buil d the (Starbucks') brand one cup at a time,† that is, rely on the customer experience to generate word-of-mouth, loyalty and new business. But in a market as competitive as Australia, with a consumer whose palate is discerning and whose loyalty often lies with a specific barista, advertising and promotion was essential to communicate the Starbucks message.The issue is not so much about building awareness – which, at 90%, is high – but to communicate what the brand means and to give consumers reasons for patronising Starbucks. Their lack of advertising made this branding issue even worse, with many people unable to articulate why they should be loyal to Starbucks. At the same time, competitors were communicating their messages very effectively – McDonald's, for instance, is a heavy spending, award-winning, advertiser in the Australian market.Added to which, more subversive counter-messages were coming from those who saw in Starbucks a ‘brand bully' ri ding rough shod over the nuanced tastes and preferences of local cultures (Klein, 2000; Clark, 2008). In other words, a range of strong contrary messages were undermining Starbucks' own very limited communications. 6. 7. Unsustainable business model Starbucks' product line is limited primarily to coffee. Sometimes a new product idea will be developed, such as the Frappucino, but these tend to have limited product life cycles and/or are seasonal.For example, the Frappucino has traditionally made up 15% of (summer) sales, but recently sales have been down, suggesting that customers are already bored with it (Kiviat, 2008). Furthermore, in the instance where other products were offered, people failed to purchase them as they only really associate Starbucks with coffee and generally seek food elsewhere. This is a very different model to The Coffee Club which has much more of a cafe feel to it, or McDonald's which has a full range of breakfast and lunch/dinner items that can be complemen ted by a McCafe latte.Hence the average transaction value at Starbucks is lower than its competitors, and therefore more customers must pass through its doors to reach the sales and profit levels of its competitors. It also creates conflict with the Starbucks ethos of the third place (and allowing people to sit around for 30 minutes sipping lattes and reading, talking or surfing) versus the need to get people in and out quickly and not take up valuable ‘real estate' (which in itself means that the average Starbucks store needs to be much bigger than the average cafe).Unlike most of the other retail coffee chains, Starbucks does not use a franchise model, preferring to lease and fit-out its own outlets. This means more cash is being spent upfront, and in Starbucks' case, more debt accrued. But adopting a franchise model would have numerous other advantages than just minimising this. It would mean that local investors, with a good sense of the local market, put their own money i nto the business and take an active role in running it and shaping its direction. 7.What are the main lessons from this case study? Several key lessons emerge that should be of interest to both domestic and international marketers. 7. 1. Crossing international borders is risky and clearly Starbucks did not do their homework, or ignored their homework Well conceived market research involving both primary and secondary data, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, would have uncovered the extent of the ‘coffee culture' that existed in 2000 when Starbucks entered the Australian market.It seems inconceivable that Starbucks management, or at least its Australian representatives, were not sufficiently apprised of the extent to which many consumers were already well acculturated in terms of buying and consuming European styles of coffees such as short black, lattes and cappuccinos, nor the extent to which many customers were in fact loyal to their suburban cafe or competit ive brands such as Gloria Jean's. As a late market entrant, Starbucks clearly failed to do thorough homework on the market before entry – this is a failure in terms of due diligence.Alternatively, they chose to ignore the messages that were coming from any due diligence that they had undertaken. This may or may not have been due to some arrogance on the part of Starbucks, or due to the fact that they considered they had a strong global brand which would meet with universal acceptance. An example of where Starbucks did do its homework, and act on it, was in France when it entered that market in 2006, establishing a cafe in the middle of Paris.Research had clearly shown the American way of consuming and socialising over a coffee was an anathema to many French, so Starbucks held back from entering the French market and when they finally entered it was with great trepidation, expanding at a very slow pace and testing the market at every step. 7. 2. â€Å"Think global but act loc al† This familiar maxim in international marketing should be well understood. While Starbucks had brand awareness as a major global brand, it failed to adapt the product and the customer experience to many mature coffee drinkers in Australia.As noted earlier, all the evidence suggests that it simply tried to transplant the American experience into the Australian market without any adaptation. In particular, it failed to adapt either its core product or its supplementary services to create the intimacy, personalisation and familiarity that is associated with established boutique cafes in Australia. 7. 3. Establish a differential advantage and then strive to sustain it A question of strategy that Starbucks perhaps failed to address was, â€Å"Is our product differentiation sustainable in the long term and does it ontinue to justify a price premium? † As noted earlier, it can be argued that the core product in this case, that is the coffee itself, is essentially a commodit y, and that Starbucks' coffee, according to many consumers, was no different to the competition, and in some cases inferior. Then Starbucks' points of difference clearly revolved around its brand image and supplementary services. It was these supplementary services, such as its unique servicescape and excellent customer service, that they used to justify a premium price. However, as competitors (e. g. The Coffee Club) quickly imitated the ‘Starbucks experience' (i. e. , their supplementary services, ambiance, etc. ), by providing premium coffee and an intimate casual experience, Starbucks' value proposition began to fade. In other words, their key points of difference could be easily imitated and were not sustainable. Faced with this scenario, the onus was on management to re-fresh and evolve any lingering differential advantage that Starbucks might have had or, at the very least, give customers reasons to continue patronising Starbucks through its communications. 7. 4.Don't l ose sight of what made you successful in the first place As more and more competitors emerged, both individual cafes and chains such as Gloria Jean's and The Coffee Club, competitive pressures forced Starbucks to impose rigid sales targets on their frontline staff including baristas to increase store productivity. However, the imposition of these KPTs and the pressure to serve more customers more quickly meant that Starbucks forgot the very thing that made it unique in the early days, namely, to provide a customer experience in an intimate casual setting that set it aside from competitors.As more pressure was placed on staff to have higher throughput, this meant that baristas and other employees had little time to engage with customers. In other words, Starbucks forgot about the very things that made it unique in the first place. This is akin to the Wheel of Retailing hypothesis (Hollander, 1960) where a no-frills retailer gradually moves upmarket in terms of variety of product, pri ce and more services and within several years finds itself competing with the more established premium supermarkets that were the very competitors that they tried to distance themselves from in the first place.The only difference with Starbucks is that it reversed the direction of the Wheel – by gradually moving downmarket it brought itself into direct competition with cheaper operators and lost sight of what made it successful in the first place. 7. 5. Consider the viability of the business model It has to be questioned whether the Starbucks' business model is viable in the long term, or even the medium term. A business model that uses a premium price to justify the excessive floor space and elaborate servicescape, and allows customers to sit in this environment for an hour sipping one latte, has to be questioned.Given that Starbucks do not have the array of products that, say, a McDonald's might have and, as documented earlier in this case, therefore do not generate the sam e sales volumes and revenues, it is hard to see how the Starbucks' model is financially viable. 8. Conclusion In summary, it appears on all the evidence that Starbucks not only misjudged the Australian coffee culture but also misjudged the extent of the competition, and failed to adapt its offering to the local market.Furthermore, with the advent of high quality barista training, the availability of premium coffee beans and the technology to produce a high quality cup of coffee (at a modest cost), sole operators who knew their customers by name, were able to set up business as viable competitors. Starbucks may have been responsible for growing the premium coffee category, but the emergence of Gloria Jean's and the Coffee Club (and McCafe, a premium coffee shop embedded in McDonald's restaurants) turned out to be serious competitors.Finally, questions have to be raised about Starbucks fundamental business model in a market where many small niche players can easily replicate the †˜Starbucks Experience'. References References AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association, 2006. Australian Coffee Market: Key Facts for 2006. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008. Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services, Australia, Report 8655. 0 for 2006-07. Bawden, T. , 2008. Starbucks reports first loss in 16 years. Times Online, 31 July. (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). BBC News, 2006. China central to Starbucks growth. BBC News, 14 February. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Browning, E. 2008. Starbucks hopes growth abroad will save its bottom line. ABC News, 3 1 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Burritt, C, 2007. McDonald's challenges Starbucks with cheaper lattes. Bloomberg, 11 September. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Cebrzynski, G. , 2008. Starbucks-dominated category wakes up and smells McD's espresso rollout. Nation's Restaurant News 42 (3), 1-6. Charles, E. , 2007. In the trenches: Coffee. In the Black, May, 28-31. Clark, N. , 2008. Starbucks: The brand we love to hate. Marketing, 2 April. Cole man-Lochner, L. , Stanford, D. D. , 2008. Starbucks reports first loss since 1992, predicts slower growth.Bloomberg, 30 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Delaney, B. , 2008. Starbucks to go. Guardian, 30 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Edwards, V. , Sainsbury, M. , 2008. Weak coffee and large debt stir Starbucks' troubles in Australia. The Australian, 31 July. Euromonitor, 2006. Starbucks Ups Expansion Plans. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2007. Starbucks Corp – Consumer Foodservice – World. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008a. On-trade Watch: Identifying Key Growth Markets to 2012. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008b. Company Watch: Starbucks Wakes Up and Smells the Coffee. Euromonitor International.Euromonitor, 2008c. Coffee – Australia. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008d. Impulse Food and Drink Channels – Coffee – Australia. Euromonitor International. Grove, S. , Fisk, R. , John, J. , 2000. Services as theater . In: Swartz, T. , Iacobucci, D. (Eds. ), Handbook of Services Marketing and Management. Sage Publications, CA, pp. 21-35. Hollander, S. , 1960. The wheel of retailing. Journal of Marketing 25 (1 ), 37-42. Hota, M. , 2008. Starbucks: brewing more than just coffee. European Case Clearing House (ECCC), 508-025-1. Karolefski, J. , 2002. Conquering new grounds. BrandChannel, 11 February. (accessed 29. 08. 8. ). Kiviat, B. , 2008. Wake up and sell the coffee. Time South Pacific (Australia/New Zealand edition) 7(13), 52-56. Klein, N. , 2000. No Logo. Flamingo, London. Lee, H. , 2003. Japan: a nation of coffee lovers. Euromonitor International. Lee, H. , 2004. Coffee brews a future in China? Euromonitor International. Lindhe, J. , 2008. One skinny cap to go. Business Review Weekly, 7 August. (accessed 1 5. 08. 08. ). Lovelock, C, Patterson, P. G. , Walker, R. , 2007. Services Marketing: An Asia Pacific and Australian Perspective. Pearson Education, Singapore. Martin, S. , 2008. Starbucks: a study in liberal failure. Part II.Conservatism Today, 29 July, (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Mescall, J. , 2008. Starbucks in Australia: where did it go wrong? Unleashed, 7 August. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Mintz, J. , 2008. Starbucks closing 600 stores in the US. International Business Times, 1 July, (accessed 14. 09. 08. ). Muthukumar, R. , Jain, S. , 2008. Starbucks suffers: Schultz returns. European Case Clearing House (ECCC), 308-152-1. Palmer, D. , 2008. Starbucks: what went wrong? AFN Thought for Food, 31 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Schultz, H. , Yang, D. J. , 1997. Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Build a Company One Cup at a Time. Hyperia Publishing, New York.Shoebridge, N. , 2008. Local palate bucks another US retailer. The Australian Financial Review, 4 August, (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). Uncles, M. D. , 2008. Aroma Australia Pty Ltd goes to Japan. In: Schiffman, L. , Bednall, D. , O'Cass, A. , Paladino, A. , Ward, S. , Kanuk, L. (Eds. ), Consumer Behaviour, fourth ed. Pearson Education Australia, Australia, pp. 584-588. Wailes, N. , 2008. Taste of defeat for the mugs from Starbucks. Sydney Morning Herald 31 (July). AuthorAffiliation Paul G. Patterson*, Jane Scott, Mark D. Uncles School of Marketing, Australian School of Business, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia 7453

Kpmg Analysis

An overview of what the company does its history and its product/service range KPMG is a multinational leading professional services firm, which deals with both audit and tax with over 10,000 partners and staff. They have achieved a vast amount of awards for both employment and health and safety, and this in turn reflects their dedication to excellence in their services. In 2008, KPMG merged with other firms in Europe, which formed KPMG Europe LLP. This therefore makes the company the largest integrated accountancy firm in Europe, with the headquarters based in Frankfurt. KMPG has a wide range of human resources, and these results in a diverse and highly skilled workforce. Furthermore, it can be seen that KPMG treat their workforce as an intangible resource, and this contributes to the firm’s competitive position. KPMG deal with three key areas: audit, tax and pensions and advisory. Their audit department deals with decision making within capital markets (KPMG, 2011 p. 1). Therefore, they provide a service to stakeholders, by ensuring that they are able to independently audit organizations. Their tax and pensions function helps individual organizations to reduce their tax burden and to ensure they meet the highest levels of compliance. Therefore, this involves key areas such as corporate reputation, pensions, and effective tax rates. Finally, they offer advisory support, which supports businesses through their business life cycle. This therefore helps and encourages firms to develop within regulatory environments. An analysis of the firm’s macro-environment Table 1: PEST analysis Political Increased governmental regulation. Increased taxes reducing consumer spending and corporate spending. Focus on environmental governance for example: environmental auditing. Economic Difficult and restrictive economic times. Businesses closing down on the UK high street. Unstable economic times, which has resulted in an increased focus on the financial sector. Social Consumer demand for CSR. Social concerns over the stability of the economy – this result, in firms such as KPMG coming under increasing scrutiny. Technological Integration of economies – the need for global expansion. Boundless economy – technology has facilitated 24-hour communication across borders. Advances in technology, which can be used to promote the detailed nature of KPMG’s services. The PEST analysis highlights a dynamic environment, which is ever changing. In particular, it can be seen that the company must utilize strategic tools to understand and deal with many of the issues presented in the PEST analysis. At present, the main difficulties facing the firm are in the economic and political environment. The economic recession has resulted in a scrutiny of the financial sector, and this in turn demands a need to offer an increasingly integral service. Furthermore, the secondary result of which has been increased regulation, which, not only affects KPMG itself but the many services it offers to its clients. An analysis of the company’s microenvironment Figure 1: Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s five Forces model is an excellent tool for understanding how powerful is a company in its particular business environment. It is very useful, because it can recognize the business’s strength in the competitive market and the possible future position will occur if the company thinks to change its plans. As a result the firm can take benefit in a condition that has power; also it can avoid any wrong steps in the future. On the other hand it can improve a situation that seems to has weaknesses. †¢Competitive rivalry: As KPMG belongs to a market that can be defined as oligopoly; the level of competition is not too high. This kind of market is controlled by the â€Å"Big Four† because they share a huge proportion of the market. Because of this the firms have the power to have high fees. †¢Power of Suppliers: The main purpose of KPMG is the provision of services. As a result of this, the major asset of the business is its own individual’s employees and members. For that reason the firm should seek to keep and extend its talents and trying to hire more qualified accountants. †¢Power of buyers: Customers are powerful in that kind of market. They can easily switch to another competitive firm because the costs of doing this aren’t too high. In addition the services provided by the â€Å"Big Four† are similar and with the same standard and this makes even easier the decision of a customer to move to a similar firm. †¢Threads of substitutes: The thread of possible substitutes in the accounting services is very small because there are not obvious substitutes of those services in the market. †¢Threats of new entrants: The market is conquered by the â€Å"Big Four† so the barricades of new entries in the market are very high. However, it is more common that small firms do not choose one of the big firms. As a result of this there is some space left for new small companies to enter the market. Table 2: SWOT Strengths 1)Asset leverage 2)High research and development focus. 3)Areas of online growth. 4)Strong management team, substantial focus on HR. )Strong brand equity 6)Strong financial position, which allows the firm to internationalize. 7)Strong European presence. 8)Competitive pricing of services. Weaknesses 1)Weak focus on real estate. 2)Vulnerability to litigations over gross negligence in audit practice. 3)Over-reliance on European market – need to understand more developing markets such as China and India (Wilson and Purushothaman, 2003 p. 19). Opportunities 1)Product and service expansion 2)Entry into emerging markets. 3)Future acquisitions. 4)Increased expenditure on infrastructure could increase demand for advisory services. Threats 1)Dynamic and competitive environment. 2)Increased regulation, resulting in a need for a throughout service. 3)Exchange rate fluctuations 4)Changes in the economic environment. 5)Global economic slowdown. The SWOT analysis indicates that the firm has strengths, which aid their position in a competitive market. Furthermore, it can be noted that the firm use such strengths to position themselves in the marketplace; in turn this promotes the resource-based view of strategy which focuses around the notion of ‘core competencies’ (Barney, 1991 p. 99). The threats outlined can be responded to by reviewing the macro environment, and the implementation of strategic tools, which may help to overcome any weaknesses. Finally, the opportunities outlined suggest that the firm should internationalize outside of Europe, this would extend the firms client base, and would allow them to tap in to developing markets such as China and India. This is in line with the BRICS study (Wilson and Purushothaman, 2003 p. 19): which, indicates that by 2050 China will be the world’s largest economy. Thus, an appreciation of the Eastern world is needed by KPMG to ensure success in the future. Evidence of an audit of key competences within the company The first key competency KPMG have is ‘reputation’ this is an intangible asset and one, which sees KPMG respected for a high caliber of services. This is the result of professional, and skilled staff, and a vast extent of knowledge, which can be applied to a vast array of business situations. Reputation is needed when offering such services which, require throughout and exact processing, for example: firms trust KPMG to handle aspects such as Tax and financial advisory, and thus often reputation is a key driver of success in this market. This is linked to the competency of professionalism, in which, strong ethical values of integrity and honesty provide the foundation for the firms work. Moreover, a key competency of the firm is their ability to develop a strong and skilled workforce. A focus on staff as an intangible resource; is something which aids the firms competitive advantage. For example: as Barney (1991 p. 99) notes: it is important that a firm have competencies which are unable to be imitated by their competitors, this in turn allows the firm to gain a strong position in the market and reduce competition. Therefore, it can be seen that the firm have a key competency of transforming the HR system to one which supports overall organizational learning, this is seen as something which supports competitive positioning (Pucik, 1988 p. 1). Accountability is a competency, which drives KPMG’s success. First and foremost, the company is operating in a dynamic, which demands transparency. Thus, the firm can be seen to take accountability for their actions, and this is something, which is supported by the firm’s organizational culture. Organizational culture is defined by Schein (2010 p. ) as ‘the shared norms and values, which are deeply rooted within an organization’. KPMG have a positive culture, which is upheld by values of customer service, customer satisfaction and the building of strong and meaningful relationships. Organizational culture can be seen as a competency, as it values can be translated into tangible resources such as increased clients, and stronger ex ternal relationships. This is linked to KPMG’s focus on making an impact, their clients expect the firm to make an impact and in turn build strong business relationships. Therefore, a strong organizational culture, which upports such values, supports the overall strategic direction of the firm. Needed in a dynamic environment, is the ability to be flexible and problem solving in an open, and innovative manner. These are two competencies which KPMG can be seen to have, in particular these are competencies which highlight how the firm has a key aim to be able to analyze complex data and reach an appropriate solution, in a manner which is simple for their clients to understand. Thus, in summary, it can be seen that the firm have an ability to translate their key, core competencies to contribute to the strategic success of the firm. The most important competencies to the firm are those, which are intangible in nature, as these are aspects, which cannot be imitated easily by their competition. In turn, such intangible resources often result in tangible results, as we can often see a link between the two. For example: higher levels of customer service are likely to result in a larger client database. A forecast of likely future prospects for the company’s market and recommendations as to how it should react to potential changes The ability of a firm to respond effectively to change is vital to the modern day organization operating in a dynamic environment. KPMG have a strong focus on their human resources, and this has resulted in the development of a workforce, which are committed to the strategic goals of the firm. Thus, as Hayes (2010 p. 12) notes a flexible workforce is needed to remain competitive, and therefore the firms reaction to any potential changes in the market is likely to be aided by their investment in their staff. KPMG’s future market is threatened by increased regulation. For example: in 2007 the company was found guilty of criminal wrong doing with regards to tax fraud (Department of Justice, 2007 p. 1). Such ethical wrongdoings damage company reputation, and this in turn is something, which is likely to affect the future of the firm. A firm such as KPMG gains a vast amount of business from reputation, and thus any damage to such may have a negative effect on their future clients. Therefore, in order to respond to increased regulation, the firm must ensure the highest ethical conduct at all times, and high levels of transparency. In addition, KPMG’s clients are faced with increased legislation regarding business reports, and thus, this promotes a need for a thorough service from the firm. Changing legislation will have a result on the firm itself, and increased expenditure is likely to be needed to ensure that all workers have the skills necessary to carry out an effective service. With regards to the external environment, developments in trends are resulting in future changes for the company. Firstly, the company is offering in a dynamic environment, and therefore is required to thrive and not just simply survive. In order to respond to competition it is important that the firm looks forward to the future, and implements a system of strategic planning. In turn, the firm should seek to provide accurate and insightful information to all of their clients, which will result in the firm adapting the finance function to enable their clients to survive during turbulent, economic times. Moreover, due to the economic climate, the needs of their consumers are changing. In order to respond to such a trend, KPMG must simplify complex business issues in a manner, which promotes a greater alignment of business processes. Many firms in a difficult, economic environment often have a short-term focus, and this is something which KPMG themselves need to steer away from, and something which they have to dis-persuade their firms from doing so. Instead, a focus on sustainable business is needed which, in turn will enable more than just reduced short-term costs. Thus, in summary the economic climate has created a difficult environment for both KPMG and their clients, and in order to survive such times and prosper in the future, the firm must position the company in a manner, which promotes success. The final trend portrayed in this section is an increased focus on corporate social responsibility. This is something which is required both from the company itself and it can be seen that KPMG’s CSR actions may influence the decisions of their clients. At present, KPMG have a strong belief that social responsibility and business success go hand in hand, and thus promote charitable donations, volunteering from their workforce and a key emphasis on the environment. In the future, a greater emphasis will be put on corporate social responsibility, and KPMG must respond to such changes by conducting environmental audits, promoting stakeholder theory, and an overall dedication to the cause. Strategy can be used to conduct external analysis, and such analysis will enable a firm such as KPMG to respond to future changes in the market. For many firms, their relevant success or failure is dependent on the ability to strategically align themselves to the external environment (Henry, 2007), and as many markets, in particular the financial market are as dynamic as ever, it is important that the firm are able to discern any trends which may later alter the firm’s strategy. As shown in this paper, the environment consists of both the macro and microenvironment, and this in turn is something, which promotes the complexity of the market. In turn, it is often thought that the competitive environment is the one, which has the most direct impact on the firm; however, it is the more external macro environment, which creates the most problematic situations for the firm, in particular, if a firm is unprepared for change. Dill (1962 p. 12) states that ‘at the one level the environment is not a very mysterious concept, it means the surroundings of the organization, and the concept becomes challenging when we try to move from its simple description to an analysis of its properties’. Thus, it is recommended that KPMG partake in environmental analysis in order to provide the companies with the opportunity to discern trends, and then from these trends create strategies, which enable the firm to best position itself. By using internal strategic capabilities such as reputation, the firm may be able to diversify into other markets, which are noted as being both less challenging and competitive. The prediction of the future is difficult, and is always uncertain due to discontinuities. However, by scanning the environment, the firm can be able to detect any weak signals, weak signals are those trends which ‘may be largely insignificant due to the fact that there impact is yet to be felt, however, the careful monitoring of such can result in the firm being better strategically adept for such uncertainties’ (Henry, 2007 p. 8: Van der Heijden, 1996). Van der Heijden (1996) notes how there are three different types of uncertainties, which all play a part in the external environment. These being: structural uncertainties, risk, and unknowable. Of these both structural uncertainties and unknowable’s are the two most difficult to comprehend, due to the fact that these are events which either cannot be imagined or do not offer any evidence of such a probability. Thus, noted in the literature, is the tool scenario planning (Schoemaker, 1995) which, can be used to deal with even the most unimaginable of events (Porter, 1998). If KPMG were able to adopt the concept of scenario planning, they would be more likely to gain a strong competitive position. Scenario planning is a tool, which can be seen to ‘stand out’ due to its ability to ‘capture a whole range of possibilities in great detail’ (Schomaker, 1995). Thus, it can be seen that scenario planning aims to overcome the under and over prediction of change, it does so by adopting a middle ground, in which, it considers both unknowable and uncertain events. Word count:2546 References Barney, JB (1991) ‘Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage’. Journal of management, 17 (1) pp. 99-120. Department of justice (2007) ‘KPMG to pay $456 million for criminal violations in relation to largest ever tax shelter fraud case’ [online]. Available from: – http://www. justice. gov/opa/pr/2005/August/05_ag_433. html [Accessed 18. 03. 11]. Dill, W. ‘The impact of environment on organizational development' In Mailick, S. and E. Van Ness (eds) Concepts and Issues in Administrative Behavior. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1962. Henry, AE (2007) ‘Understanding strategic management’. Oxford University Press: Oxford. KPMG (2011) ‘What we do’ [online]. Available from: – http://www. kpmg. com/UK/en/WhatWeDo/Pages/default. aspx [Accessed 19. 03. 11]. Porters fives forces model : Industry analysis model [online]. Available from: http://www. learnmarketing. net/porters. htm [Accessed 21. 03. 11] Porter, ME (1998) ‘On competition’. Harvard University Press: Harvard, Boston. Pucik, V (1988) ‘Strategic alliances, organizational learning, and competitive advantage: the HRM agenda’. Human resource management, 27 (1) pp. -16. Schein, EH (2010) ‘Culture and leadership’. John Wiley and Sons: London. Schoemaker, PJH (1995) ‘Scenario planning: a tool for strategic thinking’. Sloan management review, 36 (2) pp. 25-32. Van der Heijden, K. (1996), Scenarios: The Art of Strategic Conversation, Wiley, New York, NY. Wilson, Purushothaman (2003) ‘Dreaming with BRICS: the path to 2050’. Global economics paper 99, [online]. Available fr om: – http://antonioguilherme. web. br. com/artigos/Brics. pdf [Accessed 20. 03. 11].

Airline Safety essays

Airline Safety essays If you only had to pay for one fourth of your harmful actions or serve one fourth of your jail term, would you be happy? On average major airlines only have to pay a quarter for every dollar of fines that they are issued by the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration (Staller, Most Fines Get Watered Down, usatoday.com). This can be true in cases that involve forgetting to complete paperwork to not screening luggage for explosives. Some people believe that air travel is one of the safest forms of transportation, while others question its safety. This report will examine the factors, points of views, and statistics of airline incidents that involve safety. When flying, the passengers of a commercial airline have many more things to worry about then getting to their destination on time. They have to be concerned about their personal safety. Many politicians and airplane passengers should and are worried about airline safety. Some of these worries include what condition the plane is in, who is flying the plane, and the new threat of what some experts call, falling baggage. Most federal regulators give airlines flexibility, but a typical maintenance schedule is usually followed by all of the airlines according to Boeing Corporation, a manufacturer of commercial planes (Maintenance Issues Related To Safety, boeing.com). Flight crews and on-board computers can usually monitor most of the planes interior components and its engines, but routine inspections are usually performed to inspect the planes surface area and other places that arent monitored by computers. Several times a day the airline personnel perform walk around checks in which they look for leakage of fluids and problems with surface area of the plane. These problems include dents and cracks. Every three to five days the planes lighting, landing gear, fluid levels, and exterior controls, and the flaps...

Timeline of Anglo American Essay Example

Timeline of Anglo American Essay Example Timeline of Anglo American Essay Timeline of Anglo American Essay Q1: Trace the history of Anglo American from 1917 to date in South Africa and other Businesses? Anglo American plc is a global mining company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal and the worlds largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output. The following is the timeline of Anglo American: 1917Company founded by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer along with American J. P Morgan. Initial investment was 1 million pounds raised from various sources in UK and US. The company was headquartered in London, United Kingdom. 1926AAC became the major stakeholder in the De Beers company. 1928AAC began mining in the Zambian copper belt. 1945AAC moved into the coal industry by acquiring Coal Estates 1957Sir Ernest died in Johannesburg and was succeeded by his son, Harry Oppenheimer, who also became chairman of De Beers. Late 1950’sAAC focused on the development of the Free State goldfields (seven major mines simultaneously) and the Vaal Reefs mine. The success of the mines enabled the company to become the world’s largest gold-mining group. 1961AAC expanded outside of southern Africa for the first time and became a major investor in the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company in Canada. 1967Moved into the steel industry by acquiring Scaw Metals. 967 to 1975Continued to grow and established a number of ventures, including the Mondi Group (timber, pulp and paper), Amgold (later AngloGold Ashanti) and then Amcoal (through the consolidation of several of its mining operations in South Africa 1982Oppenheimer retired as chairman of the AAC and was succeeded by Gavin Relly. Anglo American Corporation merged with Minorco on 24 May 1999 to form Anglo American plc with its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange 2001In 2001, De Beers was privatized after being a listed company for more than 70 years.

Modifying Words and Phrases to Express Opinions

Modifying Words and Phrases to Express Opinions There are a number of words and phrases that can help express your opinion. These words and phrases are common in creative writing, writing reports, and other types of writing intended to persuade. Giving Your Opinion Using a modifying word can help you express your opinion when making a statement. For example: Investing in high-tech stocks is risky. You could agree or disagree with this statement. Using a word such as undoubtedly expresses your own opinion about the statement. Here are some other modifying words and phrases that can help: (Most) assuredly adjective: ​These investments will most assuredly help to build equity.Without a doubt clause: Without a doubt, this investment is risky.It is doubtful that clause: It is doubtful that we will succeed with this attitude. Qualifying Your Opinion Sometimes, when giving an opinion it is important to qualify what you say by leaving room for other interpretations. For example, There is hardly any doubt that we will succeed. leaves room for other interpretations (hardly any doubt a little room for doubt). Here are some other modifying words and phrases that can help qualify your opinion: Almost/nearly adjective: Its nearly impossible to make a mistake.Largely/mainly noun: Its largely a matter of getting the facts right.Many ways/some ways it/this/that, etc: In many ways, ​its a sure bet. Making a Strong Assertion Certain words mark strong opinions about something you believe. For example, It is not true that I implied you were wrong. is strengthened by adding the word just: It is just not true that I implied you were wrong. Here are some other modifying words and phrases that can help strengthen an assertion: Simply/just adjective: It is simply wrong to believe that about John.Mere noun: That is a mere distraction from the main point.Merely/only the first, last: This is merely the last in a number of problems.Sheer/utter noun: The sheer idiocy of the project speaks for itself. Emphasizing Your Point When stating that an action is increasingly true, these phrases help to emphasize. For example, We have decided over and over again that we need to continue down this path. Here are some other phrases that help to emphasize your point: More than adjective: It is more than likely he will fail.More and more adjective: Im afraid it is becoming more and more difficult to believe you. Giving Examples When stating your opinion it is important to give examples to support your statements. For example, It is more than likely he will fail. In the case of Mr. Smith, he failed to follow-up and caused us to pay heavy fines. The following phrases are used to give examples to back up your opinion. Such as noun: Critics of this policy, such as Jack Beam of Smith and Sons, say that ...This is an example of clause: This is an example of our need to diversify investments.In the case of noun: In the case of Ms. Anderson, the company decided to ... Summarizing Your Opinion Finally, it is important to summarize your opinion at the end of a report or other persuasive text. For example: In the end, it is important to remember that ... These phrases can be used to summarize your opinion: All in all,: All in all, I feel we need to diversify due to ...In the end,: In the end, we must decide quickly to implement this plan.In conclusion,: In conclusion, let me repeat my strong support for ...

The Story of an Hour and its literary elements Essay - 1

The Story of an Hour and its literary elements - Essay Example d to their husbands’ will and social expectations, and this is valuable, because it helps us understand how death can be the best and only way to untie the knot of marriage. Mrs. Mallard’s body and soul are tied to her husband. The plot reveals how her marriage is a prison. She marries someone she does not love: â€Å"And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not.† Despite this, she lets Brent have complete control of her soul and body, because women are considered as properties of their husbands. Mrs. Mallard’s name is not acknowledged until the end of the story. She will always be a Mallard, the wife of Brently. Brently Mallard, however, has his full name given at the onset, and this indicates his own individuality, individuality that Mrs. Mallard and other women were not allowed to have. Furthermore, the setting is within Mallard’s home. It suggests how she is imprisoned by her home life. In addition, spring symbolizes a new life that Louise yearns for. Her new life is so real, she can taste it: â€Å"The delicious breath of rain was in the air.† Even the sky reinforces the atmosphere of a new life: â€Å"There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.† Her husband’s death opens a whole new life for her: â€Å"Free! Body and soul free!† Mrs. Mallard is also weighed down by social demands. In the 19th century, women were seen as weak. They are treated with gentleness, and the same handling is given to Mrs. Mallard, though she also has a heart problem: â€Å"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbands death.† She also owns a â€Å"comfortable chair,† which indicates how women are creatures of comforts, since they are assumed to be materialistic and weak. Furthermore, she shows weakness in how she accepted her husband’s death: â€Å"She wept at once,

Critical Action Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critical Action Learning - Essay Example In this paper, I will discuss the process of critical action learning to achieve enhanced understanding and potential resolution of the work based problem with strong focus on ethical issues and morality. The paper shows how critical action learning has been applied to enhance CSR in my organization. Key words: action, critical, ethical and learning Introduction In week one, I discussed the problem that our organization was facing in the implementation and practicing of the social responsibility. There was apathy in the employee participation on the issues that concerned corporate social responsibility. As a middle management manager, I was tasked with ensuring that corporate social responsibility was enhanced in our organization and that we could increase employee retention through the practices of CSR (Cox, Geotte, & Young, 2005). The following paper provides how action learning was used in our organization to address the issues relating to organizational management in relation to the top management, middle management and employees. The corporate social responsibility was the major issue discussed in the paper. ... al responsibility in a business organization is the process of social responsibility, policies, programs and observable outcomes in relation to the businesses social relationship. The CSR can lead to increased reputation for the business. The corporate social responsibility therefore implies to the social behavior of business towards it stakeholders (Heal, 2008). The stakeholders in this case refer to the community members. Companies that are socially responsible in making profits also contribute to some aspects of giving back to the community in the spheres of social development. According to Heal (2008), the corporate social responsibility is the concept in which companies integrate social and environmental concerns in the organizations’ operations and in their interactions with the community on voluntary basis. Our company needed to ensure the CSR was supported by all employees, as this could steer our company image forward, which translates to trust and more business. Acti on learning was incorporated to enhance the understanding and acceptance of the CSR in our organization (Ferrell & Ferrell, 2012). Action learning is an educational process in which people in an organization work together by tackling the problems affecting their organization and reflecting on their actions (Masquardit, 2004). In action learning, the learners acquire the understanding of the required ethics and practices through actions they engage in rather than being instructed. The results achieved in the daily actions serve as the motivations for increased participation. According to Masquardit (2004), action learning is a major factor in developing competence among individuals and teams in the problem solving and in the process of making decision in an organization. In my case of enhancing

Week 4 team part of paper team a Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 4 team part of paper team a - Essay Example The dangers of being sued pass through just about every single facet of the corporate world, and the enormity of prospective losses from suet can be significant. Even ignoring the indirect costs associated with lawsuits, they still represent over millions of dollars in fee opposition. Hence, the determination to report contingencies ought to be centered on the opinion of admission. For instance, as soon as the admission of an incident appends the material subject matter of the financial statements, it should be reported. Occasionally, a few variations of contingencies have the potential to result into self-fulfilling prediction. For instance, a common contend with contingency snag is the reservation of incorporating the potential loss from a litigation. The cash worth of the loss could be projected by consuming the estimated worth criteria, putting projected responsibility on the balance sheet could provide the plaintiff with supplementary confirmation of the organization’s gu ilt. Admission of contingencies may perhaps decrease stock prices and can lead to litigations. Though, overall admission of contingencies ought to be of assistance in evading litigations as they guide stakeholders in developing accurate anticipations. When a contingent liability turns into a legitimate loss, the greatest impact on stock value ought to be in those situations that admissions were unsatisfactory or there was no admission. In the incident that the litigation is lost and it is prior to the fiscal year close, however prior to the financial statements being dispersed, the loss is accrued (the aftereffect of the litigation can be used to establish the amount) and turn into a liability on the balance sheet. At which point an admission in the comments section of the financial statements is proper. In the event that the lawsuit transpires following the fiscal year end, however prior to the financial statements are distributed and the loss is substantial,

International Investing-DB3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Investing-DB3 - Essay Example Foreign direct investment is a market entry strategy that can be used to achieve market penetration into foreign locations. A foreign direct investment can be defined as a long term investment by a foreign direct investor in a firm resident in an economy other than the one in which the foreign direct investor is based (Kamal, 2011). For example if an American company starts a joint venture with a Canadian company that would be considered a foreign direct investment. In order for the United Nations to validate a foreign direct investment the investing company must purchase a controlling interest of at least 10%. A lot of countries depend on the capital foreign direct investment brings. In 2008 the amount of foreign direct investment worldwide was $1697 billion (Toscano, 2009). The implementation of foreign direct investment has several advantages. One of the greatest benefits of the use of foreign direct investment is that it benefits the local economy of the country receiving the inv estment. The economy benefits from the creation of jobs and from tax revenues for the local governments. Foreign direct investments are considered a durable type investment that will benefit the community in the long run (About, 2011).

Career Development through International Mobility Essay

Career Development through International Mobility - Essay Example The LVMH Company came into existence as a result of the merger of Moet et Chandon, one of the largest manufacturers of champagne in the world, with a renowned manufacturer of cognac, Hennessey. In 1987, this group further merged with a fashion house, Louis Vuitton. LVMH is a France based group with over 56000 human resources out of which 63% employees work in different locations of the world. There exist 50 prestigious brands under this group, making it recognized as a global giant. It deals with various activities that include business in fashion goods and leather, spirits and wines, perfumes and cosmetics, watches and jewelry, among others. In this assignment, is going to major in the company of Christian Dior, because it is LVMH’s major holding company. It possesses 42.38% of its shareholding and voting rights of 59.3%. Christian Dior’s mass shareholder is also the chairman of both companies. He is LVMH’s CEO. By successfully integrating various famous inspira tional brands, other companies that offer luxurious products, e.g.  Richemont and Gucci, which are now the division of French conglomerate, are doing the same. The assignment also covers Chateau d’Yquem, which is a part of the oldest variety of the group, the manufacturer of first-class vintage wine. In order to make possible the adjustments of cross-cultures, a challenge to train its expatriates for international projects is being faced by LVMH. Therefore, the process of adjustment, involving the training of the employee along with his/her family, would be accelerated. Currently, the language courses are being developed by both pre-departure and post-arrival training. Intercultural training needs to be completed shortly as there exists an international position that needs to be filled without any delay. Due to this short training, the pressure to perform is not executed on such employees. In few cases, new joiners are helped by subsidiaries and the permission is granted to trainees for preliminary field trips. However, as per rule, before sending a candidate to an international exposure, some former international exposure, for instance, through studies or previous professional exposure, must be possessed by him. The kind of business conducted by LVMH requires its employees to possess the mobility factor. Usually, the employees are not found turning down international projects and assignments but it has been observed that the factor that hinders the mobility of an employee is related to the spouse. To tackle this, those young graduates are offered international assignments who are mostly single and who realize the importance of such international assignments as these are likely to help them develop effectively.  

Survey Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Survey - Research Paper Example g to the survey, more than half of the respondents applauded the efforts made by the service provider as a step in the right direction especially for the young population, who constitute the largest bulk of the fast food clients. Among the sample of four hundred students, a hundred were optimistic that the proposed small sustainable lifestyle changes would indeed go a long way in improving their general wellness and fitness. One of the key determinants of the success of a program is gathering the right information. Out of those surveyed, at least fifty of them reported that they had no concrete information on the program and how it would affect their fitness and health. Great hindrance to the same being lack of interest on matters health, the general stereotype as pertain fast foods. Diet plays an important role in fitness and health, and the need for a well-balanced nutrition is key. Service providers such as KCAL’s with calorie-controlled, refreshingly wholesome tasty and affordable fast foods have made this possible. There was an admission by the majority of not having the right information pertaining the right components of the various foods.There was an admission by at least a hundred out those surveyed that the first key consideration was cost, rather than the nutrition component. The high demand for fast and tasty foods among the young population is a great attraction for most of the respondents, with at least half of the population admitting to the same. The efforts to provide rich flavors,tantalizing tastes and health promoting nutrients dishes by KCAL was a reason for most admitting that they would seek to try out the program and that it would actually help them achieve their envisioned goal of a better

Career Development through International Mobility Essay

Career Development through International Mobility - Essay Example The LVMH Company came into existence as a result of the merger of Moet et Chandon, one of the largest manufacturers of champagne in the world, with a renowned manufacturer of cognac, Hennessey. In 1987, this group further merged with a fashion house, Louis Vuitton. LVMH is a France based group with over 56000 human resources out of which 63% employees work in different locations of the world. There exist 50 prestigious brands under this group, making it recognized as a global giant. It deals with various activities that include business in fashion goods and leather, spirits and wines, perfumes and cosmetics, watches and jewelry, among others. In this assignment, is going to major in the company of Christian Dior, because it is LVMH’s major holding company. It possesses 42.38% of its shareholding and voting rights of 59.3%. Christian Dior’s mass shareholder is also the chairman of both companies. He is LVMH’s CEO. By successfully integrating various famous inspira tional brands, other companies that offer luxurious products, e.g.  Richemont and Gucci, which are now the division of French conglomerate, are doing the same. The assignment also covers Chateau d’Yquem, which is a part of the oldest variety of the group, the manufacturer of first-class vintage wine. In order to make possible the adjustments of cross-cultures, a challenge to train its expatriates for international projects is being faced by LVMH. Therefore, the process of adjustment, involving the training of the employee along with his/her family, would be accelerated. Currently, the language courses are being developed by both pre-departure and post-arrival training. Intercultural training needs to be completed shortly as there exists an international position that needs to be filled without any delay. Due to this short training, the pressure to perform is not executed on such employees. In few cases, new joiners are helped by subsidiaries and the permission is granted to trainees for preliminary field trips. However, as per rule, before sending a candidate to an international exposure, some former international exposure, for instance, through studies or previous professional exposure, must be possessed by him. The kind of business conducted by LVMH requires its employees to possess the mobility factor. Usually, the employees are not found turning down international projects and assignments but it has been observed that the factor that hinders the mobility of an employee is related to the spouse. To tackle this, those young graduates are offered international assignments who are mostly single and who realize the importance of such international assignments as these are likely to help them develop effectively.  

A comparison of two works of art from 1400 to the present on view at a Essay

A comparison of two works of art from 1400 to the present on view at a museum in New York - Essay Example Smith’s Untitled is Color screenprint, 57 x 76.8 cm (22 7/16 x 30 1/4 in) and Marden’s 3 Hydra Rocks is oil on canvas 209.9 x 340.4 x 6.4 cm (82 5/8 x 134 x 2 1/2 in). Defining art can be one of the most difficult yet enjoyable tasks that any person can ever undertake. There are so many factors to consider, and so many different methods of artistic thought. Some say that art is an expression, but not everyone agrees that an expression is art. However, really, is not art really all in the eye of the beholder? Who is to say that one train of thought it more important or correct than another does when regarding what art is. One person may think that a particular object or expression may be artistic, whilst another thinks that it is simply garbage. In this case, these artworks are truly wonderful.1 The painting Untitled by Smith is incomparable for its use of space all over the canvas and the application of dimension in form of space is unique. She made space speak a language and narration that was beyond imagination. With her penetrating look and absorbing concern, she explores the innate charm of an object of art. According to the celebrated Latin poet Ovid, art lies in concealing art. If art is the magic of holding back time then artists are the magicians who captivate time in colors and canvases. As time passes by several take birth and perish, but some people with their achievements and contributions leave their footprints on the sands of time. These people remain immortal forever in the pages of history and along with them last the movements created by them. One such artist is Smith and she manifested the mode of artistic expression in the late 20th century.2 The usage of space, particularly on the right hand side of the canvas is the balance of the shapes and lines present on the left central part of the painting. Here the space is colored in brown and black. This is a less vibrant color