Cooperate And Strategic Management At Asda Commerce Essay

Cooperate And Strategic Management At Asda Commerce Essay This essay will critically analysis and evaluate the strategy of ASDA. With the analysis I will evaluate what strategy they are using, with the purpose and what type of intention they looking to develop for the future of the supermarket. ASDA is a supermarket that is owned by an American company that is called Wall-Mart. I choose this company because firstly I am a loyal customer and secondly Ill be a good company to evaluate the business analysis on it. It is a big company that requires different types of marketing strategy analysis for it to be as successful as it is today. First am going to be concerned with the role of the external environment of the business. The environment of the business includes PESTLE, five forces and the opportunity and threats strategy. These tools will show us the competitive side of the company to create competitive advantage in ever more crowded markets and with increasingly demanding customers. (Graham Hooley 2004). The second part of this essay will be on cultural analysis. Culture analysis is the way the management assembles combinations of values, rituals, languages and myths. This tool is used as a key factor in successful commitment and passion of employees of the business. These factors are found in corporate culture, will show how they improve their performance of management and as a whole by looking in detail the culture of the surroundings of the business. For the third part of the essay I will look into the portfolio analysis to see weather or not the business is looking attractive, in growth and has substantial profit margin for the size of the company. The most basic and importance of being in business is making profit and this will show us the situation of the company in the market place. Finally I will conclude my essay with a conclusion on how the business will be changing in the market for future strategies based on the firms ability to adopt the market and take benefit of the nature of the company to optimise their growth and attractiveness. External Analyses Lets start with the first strategy management that gives full detailed and creative assessment on the environment of the company, which is called PESTLE. The analysis was done and shown below. Social forces Branding advantage for company, it brings trust to companies. Disadvantage may be a dislike of a product and may not buy it again. Lifestyle changes disadvantage for company, as it can be costly to change like cloths. Advantage would be that keeping with fashion could bring more money for the company. Political forces Employment law can be seen as good view to employees as ASDA needs to be aware of health and safety and other laws but can be source of complications for the business. Taxation disadvantage for company, it can be costly for business like ASDA because they need there individual accountant and as a whole. The benefit would be the provision of the public goods. Economic forces Inflation disadvantage for company, people will have less money to spend on luxury goods. Economic Growth is an advantage for the company as living standard is higher however interest rate will be changed that will cause to be more volatile and susceptible to change. Technological forces Web site for company to keep it up-to-date can be costly but the benefit will make people buy online which will decrease manpower. Stock control can automatically count the stocks sold and reorder however the disadvantage would be unable to count the stolen/broken goods. Legal Current legislation is important for the companies to know the status of the environment it is situated to keep its benefits and drawbacks in check for the future. Environmental Environmental issues is required for the local, national, and international to keep commitment in environmental protection. The benefit will increase loyalty of brand as they seek increase better environment. Customer values -can target a segment of a market for the company to guide towards and is a key to sustainable competitive advantage. A PESTEL analysis considers the most important external factors that impacts ASDA. This analysis will reflect on ASDAs brand name by merging all the factors in one to create a guide strategic decision-making. If the PESTEL analysis done correctly and accurately, it would make the organisation of ASDA to keep up with the change of the environment and it will be better placed than its competitors to respond to change. For example Wal-Mart decided on a smart decision by merging with ASDA as both company benefited from it by having more leverage on each other. As ASDA has many franchises in Briton every single one of the PESTLE analysis are different to each other as they are located in a different region. This means that every single franchise companys manger would use this tool for their area to create value for money, loyalty and trust. Although the environment is different in each location, the main goals and objectives of the original company stays, and managers aim to achieve. One of the ways managers seek in achieving their objectives is using another analysis on the external environment. This will plan and helps ASDA to focus on key issues of the external environment. The two key elements are opportunity and threats of the company, which is shown below. Opportunity -The opportunity ASDA is able to do is to expand globally by strategic alliances with other retailers. -Second market share leader has the opportunity of reduction of effective food prices for consumers through economies of scale. -Consumers are likely to change and trends endlessly change so there is always opportunity for ASDA to act upon the next trend which requires good strategic marketing. Threat -As shown in the market share graph in the next page, it shows that ASDAs market share comparison to Sainsbury is not that much far apart (0.5 share difference) an Tesco in the lead. -Technological are also highlighted as threat as cheaper products can be found online or better quality by competitors. -Tescos advertisements on television, communicates about how many products it has cheaper than ASDA. Supermarket shares Identifying theses forces for ASDA are simple and it will be hard to plan the correct strategy with just these to guide the company. To be able to understand better of the external environment of ASDA I need to introduce another analysis to conduct a plan of good strategy for the company, which is called Porters five forces as shown below. Porters five forces element focuses on the circumstance of other elements. For example the supplier power would be increased if there were a high scale of rivalry between companies trying to obtain the supplies. This analysis would show the bargaining power it has upon the elements to increase awareness and create a better business potential for the company. Using this analysis it will look at ASDAs power in the market and allows you to see the gap between where the company is and where it should be, and furthermore, what strategies should be applied. This helps the bottom line of the company as it considers profitable rivalry to be a base significance and it should concentrate on the factors affecting the companys profit. With the combinations of the three analyses shown above, the external environment should be kept equal or increase competitive advantage over their rivals. Cultural web analysis The name of ASDA on its own represents different behaviour and values for people. The relationships all people have with ASDA are different depending on their situation or cultural point of view. Corporate culture is the way people do things in an organisation, which sets beliefs, attitudes, core values and behavioural patterns that is shared by the people in the company. The culture of web is used to analysis the elements that influence the performance and determine the future of the change. Analysing the culture as it is now in ASDA, then look what Ill be in the future and to find the differences in between them to calculate the change in tomorrow will achieve the high-performance culture that any business wants. Below is the cultural web diagram and each section is described in appendix 2. (Johnson and Scholes (1999); P. 74) IT will be imposable for Multi-national Corporation like ASDA to have no conflicts between the local national culture and the imported corporate culture. These conflicts are hard to manage as there are to many to please or have a skilled manager to multi-cultural management. For the ideal strategy for ASDAs culture should be multi cultured and managers should have an open mind when working with employees to manage the organisation more effective and efficiently as culture differ. For example in the middle east family values are very important and an employee wouldnt dream of staying late to finish work if this conflicted with a family duty. This does not mean that their work ethic is poor, it is just expressed differently and a western manager would find it offence by suggesting otherwise. ASDA has large group of people to identify across the whole organisation. Instead managers tend to identify the culture with smaller sub-groups. So ASDA would have a mixture of sub-cultures some th at may even be abnormal. Again there is a high certainty of conflict between the different sub-cultures as business is rarely simple. It is said the collection of beliefs, expectations and values shared by the corporations members and transmitted from one generation of employees to another (Wheelen and Hunger, 1986) which will bring prosperity and growth of the company. Portfolio analysis Next is the portfolio analysis of ASDA as it represents the attractiveness, balance, fit, manageability and synergy of the company. The business portfolio is the collection of products that make up the business. The best portfolio is one that fits the companys strength and helps develop opportunity. ASDA will need to do a set of analyses and decide which businesses needs more or less investments, and conducting growth strategy for adding new products/services and businesses to the portfolio. Additionally work out the time limit of a product or businesses should no longer be retained. There are three types of portfolio planning however the two best known ones are from the Boston consulting group that the description been added to appendix 3 and by General Electric. In each method the company needs to identify the various strategic business units. The Strategic business units have all have separate mission and objectives and that can be planned independently from the other businesses. The strategic business unit can be dividing the business, for example a product line or individual brands. When ASDA classifies its strategic business units in the portfolio, then it must decide what to do with them. The diagram in appendix 3 shows a cash cow, a dog, starts and question marks. New strategic thinking indicates there are four types of strategies, which is shown in appendix 3. Depending on the strategic business units it will have a different type of strategy as explained before to suit its needs. Conclusion Finally to conclude my essay I would start of saying that at this moment that cultural web is essential for ASDA as Culture is something which makes members of an organisation behave more like each other than non-members! ASDA uses culture to hunt for steady growth within the market, through very detailed planning and control systems. It is good for ASDA to understand culture as they can implement new strategies and adopt culture with them. I will explain the reasons and do a summary of how environment analysis affects on ASDA. Any company must seek to understand the nature of its competitive environment in order to be successful in achieving its objectives and in setting up appropriate strategies. If a company fully understands the nature of the environment analysis it will be in a stronger point to defend itself against any threats and to influence its strategy. By strategising through how each force affects the company it will identify the strength and direction of each force that will provides opportunity to identify the strength of the situation and the ability to make a continued profit (Mind Tools, 2006). To broaden my analysis feather I could have used STEEPLED which allow for a dedicated Ethical section however they can be included in the original four. It is the shape and simplicity of a four-part model is also somehow more strategically appealing and easier to manipulate and convey. There is also the sixth forces (relative power of other stakeholders) that I could have analysed however is not as popular. If I had more time I could have been able to do more analysis to find new and more of competitive advantages for ASDA. Although using strategic planning it is not always precise. No tool is fixed. Its a matter of practical choice as to what helps best to identify and explain the matters at hand. Neither resources nor market are fixed and keep changing every day. The new processes of marketing will require us to learn new ways of doing business in unfamiliar organisations. We may by now be well used to the idea of market needs changing over time and the need to monitor those changes for the success of the business. For success of growth for ASDA they need to constantly to examine and develop their resources and capabilities over time to be able to have a completive advantage in the long run. At the same time it should look at their current set of capabilities and assets to create new opportunities for the short run. Fundamentally ASDA needs to widen its resources to increase profit and deeper relationship with customer to ensure long-term value through the relationships between them. With the new millennium, there is infinity number of ways of competing with rivals. It is an exciting period for competitive marketing. PESTLE analysis is used to measure the growth or decline of a marketplace, as such the position, potential and direction for the business. References Haberberg, A. and Rieple, A. (2001) The Strategic Management of Organizations, Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Kippenberger, T. (1998) Strategy according to Michael Porter, The Antidote, Vol. 3 Issue 6, pp. 24-25. Luffman, G., Lea, E., Sanderson, S. and Kenny, B. (1996) Strategic Management, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Inc. Porter, M. (1980a) How Competition Forces Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, September-October, pp.137-145. Porter, M. (1980b) Competitive Strategy, New York: Free Press. Porter, M. (1998) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, New York: Free Press. Sanderson, S. (1998) New approaches to strategy: new ways of thinking for the millennium, Management Decision, Vol. 36 issue 1, pp.9-13. Thurlby B (1998) Competitive forces are also subject to change, Management Decision London Wheelen, T. and Hunger, J. (1998) Strategic Management and Business Policy, 6th ed., Reading: Addison-Wesley. Johnson G. and Scholes K. (1999), Exploring Corporate Strategy, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, London. Greenley G.E. (1989), Strategic Management, Prentice Hall, London Certo S.C. and Peter J.P. (1997), Strategic Management, 3rd Edition, Austen Press / Irwin, Illinois.

Feminine Mystique and Black boy Comparison Essay -- essays papers

Feminine Mystique and Black boy Comparison Fighting for survival and status within the world has been in affect since the Stone Age. It starts with man against beast battling for survival. As time goes on, so does the type of battle, from beast to man against man. When conquerors from Europe come over to North America they push the Indians west because they, the Indians, do not fit into the society the white man creates and there are differences that are noticeable. Later on there becomes discrimination against blacks with the Jim Crow Laws and the silencing of women. Throughout history there are more examples where people do not fit into the â€Å"norm† of society. Betty Friedan and Richard Wright in their novels The Feminine Mystique and Black Boy both experience different forms of oppression. As Betty Friedan discusses a problem that has no name, but mainly how a woman is enslaved in a man’s society, while Richard Wright tries to overcome the Jim Crow south by attacking racial identity. â€Å"But forbidden to join man in the world, can women be people† (Friedan 50)? Friedan illustrates this point throughout her book. The fore-sisters of Friedan fought for the passage of the nineteenth amendment which was passed in August of 1920. The passage of this amendment was largely due to the women’s contribution to the war effort, the goal was declared about seventy-two years before, during the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. Throughout this time, women became immersed in their education and their own self-worth. Searching for jobs and not husbands is the focus. During this period the national birth rate declines since the women are not home at the man’s beck and call. As the ti... ...pirit to gain that knowledge will fall deep within the cracks and will not be able to survive. But Richard Wright fights to fulfill his hunger of education that is denied to him. The roles of the African Americans are mapped out for them, making them follow to the set aspirations society has for them. Just as society does for the women in Friedan’s novel were to aspire to be a housewife. Overall, Friedan and Wright though coming from two different times and places both focus on oppression of the mind. The oppression that brings this world against one another is destroying each person. With education being told as being for the â€Å"white man† only and our roles outlined by society, we try not to go against them. But we should not let our culture hold us back if we feel a void by not achieving what we as a person and equal in this world want.

Driving at 16

In the state of Pennsylvania you can obtain a driver’s license at 16 years of age. There are a lot of disadvantages for teens driving at that age. Statistics and research show that their brains aren’t fully develop, they don’t have enough hours or time driving under the different weather conditions, they are more prone to having accidents, and their insurance rates are high. You would think teenagers would be the world’s best drivers. Their muscles are supple and their reflexes are quick. Though car crashes are the leading cause of death more than drugs, guns, violence, or any disease. The National Institutes of Health conducted a research on brain immaturity of teenagers and how it can affect the driving and their judgment. The study shows that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully developed until about the age 25 which greatly impacts the nations driving laws. Here is a diagram showing how the brain matures from age 5 to 20. This just simply proves how teenagers and there lack of judgment and impulse can improve through maturity by age. Besides the maturity level of the brain of a teenager, another disadvantage is the hours driving under the wheel. They currently do not have enough hours and time driving under different weather climates to understand how that can affect maturity of their driving. In Pennsylvania, 16 year olds only have to drive for 50 hours and can obtain a junior license after 6 months of driving. So for an example you get your permit in April you can have your junior license in October. What about the winter months? That’s an important month because that’s deals with snow and ice factors. A third disadvantage for 16 year olds are accident rates are high. Teenagers are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in a car crash and three times as likely to die in one, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In 2008, PennDOT released an article on: Reminding Teen Drivers to Avoid Distractions While Driving. There was 23,059 crashes involving teenager driving and out of those crashes 194 fatalities. In 2009, Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics show there were 22,473 crashes and 186 involving fatalities. Even though the percentage has gone down a little, that’s still way too many. Too many teenagers now a days talk and text while driving, continue to eat or drink, don’t wear seat belts, listening to loud music, goofing off with their friends, and have too many friends in the car. Then what happens is you lose focus on the road, the traffic around you, and causes you to have an accident. Which will affect your driving record and your insurance rate will go even higher. Which brings me to the final reason why driving at 16 has a disadvantage is the insurance rates are high. Teenage male drivers are 3 times a higher risk than teenage female drivers. A 78% statistic shows through Bureau of Highway Safety and Traffic Engineering and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that more teenage males tend to have accidents. They also like to race each other in streets and tend to get more driving tickets. Even though taking the driving course through your school or driving class may help it still is a high rate. Plus teenagers are under their parents insurance until they reach 18. So if the parent has an excellent driving record and the teenager is careless or has an accident this than affects the parents. Which I think is unfair. It should affect the teen not the parent. Here are some solutions to all these disadvantages for a 16 year old having a driver’s license in the state of Pennsylvania. Right away I would raise the age to 17. I would than raise the hours of driving from 50 hours to 75 to start. I would also make it that instead of 6 months to obtaining a junior driver’s license; you would have 9 to 10 months until you can obtain one. That way you can be able to learn how to drive under all weather conditions. I also feel that teenagers should only be able to drive back and forth to work like a bread and butter license until you reach a certain number of hours and your driving record is clean. Change the time frame for allowing teenagers to drive. An example would be from 6 a. m. to 10 p. m. after that someone over the age of 18 would have to drive. The number of passenger’s in a car would be changed to only allowing 1 person under the age of 18 in a car. Since you would have to be 17 now to drive, I would also make it that you can obtain your own insurance policy. Or, if you or your parents want you under their policy it would only affect you if you get into an accident or get tickets. In some counties they have passed that you can’t text or talk on a phone while driving. They should pass this everywhere. This would all help reduce the accident rates and insurance rates. It is clear that if we could get some new laws passed or raise the age, this would resolve a lot statistics of teenage driving. In return they would be more mature and would make better choices and decisions. REFERENCES: The Washington Post (2005). The Developing Brain. Retrieved from http://washingtonpost. com DMV. org (2011 September 26). Pennsylvania Teen Drivers Guide. Retrieved from http://www. dmv. org PRNewswire (2011 September 26). PennDOT Reminds Teen Drivers to Avoid Distractions While Driving. Retrieved from http://www. prnewswire. com PennDOT (2009). Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics. Retrieved from http://www. dot. state. pa. us The Daily Local (2011). Maturity Level of the Brain. Retrieved from http://www. dailylocal. com

Native Americans And The American Government Essay

Throughout history, Native Americans have been victimized by Americans and the American Government. Native Americans were here long before the English settlers found and migrated to America. They tried to buy the land from Native Americans, and money was not important to them so they refused. Over time this costed a lot of Native American lives and most of their land was taken from them. Native Americans were immensely mistreated in the 1900’s by white Americans and are still being wronged by deceiving history in textbooks and other learning aid. The sources used were Dances with Wolves, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (BMHWK), Forget Columbus, The Vanishing American, and Silencing California Genocide in Social Studies Texts(SCGSS). Dancing with Wolves is about an officer is the US Army. He gets stationed on the West front and everyone has abandoned the fort, so he stays there until more soldiers get there. He becomes close with the neighboring Indian tribe and becomes one of t hem. He starts to live through the struggles that they have to live through being Native Americans. BMHWK is a movie about the white Americans trying to buy land from the Native Americans and trying to civilize them by giving them white names and teaching them white education. Forget Columbus is a chapter within The Inconvenient Indian that talks about the fallacious history regarding Whites vs Indians. He thinks there is a lot of made up history and history not told, for American favor. TheShow MoreRelatedNative Americans And Treaties with the Government1750 Words   |  7 Pagesprotect the forests for those who cant speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees Chief Qwatsina’s of the Lakota Tribe. The plain natives, a respectful people, took from the land what they needed and always gave back. The settlers that came thought they were smarter and more advanced than the natives, and viewed the natives as being inferior. In reality it was the exact oppo site. 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