...DSGi (formerly called Dixons Stores Retail Group plc) is one of Europe’s leading electrical retailing groups with 1,200 stores and online stores. It is represented in 28 counties and has over 40,000 staff (DSGi n.d.). The company has brands such as PC World, Currys and dixons.co.uk to name a few. In year 2009/10 the company had-pre tax profits of £133.2m (DSGi 2010). Strategic decisions are made by directors in the company with the support of shareholders. Strategic decisions are a long term plan that determines what the business will do as a whole. An example for DSGi would be their “five-year plan to transform the business” (Baker 2010). This plan involves a concentration on brand identify rather than just price promotions, in relation to marketing. The idea with this plan is to set them apart from rivals such as Comet who use price promotions as their main marketing focus. Tactical decisions are used in order to achieve the overall strategic decision and focus on how it will be done. These will be made by department directors and heads of departments. One way DSGi have done this is to try increase customer service. Another example for DSGi which Niall O’Keeffe, DSGi marketing director made, is the recent advertising campaign which featured Star Wars characters, R2-D2 and C-3PO, which was focused to highlight the dual branded Currys and PC World megastores, which have recently undergone a reformatting part of the strategic plan to raise the brands identity (Baker 2010)...
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...placed in a group of people and assigned a task that needed to be accomplished. Many of these groups are simply that, a group. The task that many fail to see as the number one objective of the group is to foster a teamwork by actually transforming the group to a cohesive team. The idea sounds fairly simple and transparent, "If everyone works together, we have a team!" This could not be farther from the truth. Teamwork is not merely the ability to work together to get from point A to B. The Overhead Reduction Task Force is a case that exhibits this strong need to build a team in order to be the most effective in achieving goals. The group that has been assembled for Larry Williams to lead has many internal issues but also many opportunities for growth. To properly analyze this case, the initial meetings with both Georgia Dixon and the task force members needs to determined followed by predictions on how the first week of the task force went. The meeting with Dixon is crucial for Larry to establish clear and concise goals for himself and his future team. Through this meeting, Larry must also determine Dixon's position on the manner and assess to what extent she will be involved with the team. From the information provided in the case, it is clear that Dixon is essentially "dumping" this task on Larry and that she will not even be present for the first two weeks of the task force. From this, Larry has limited options on how to approach Dixon. Larry needs to identify from Dixon what the...
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...placed in a group of people and assigned a task that needed to be accomplished. Many of these groups are simply that, a group. The task that many fail to see as the number one objective of the group is to foster a teamwork by actually transforming the group to a cohesive team. The idea sounds fairly simple and transparent, "If everyone works together, we have a team!" This could not be farther from the truth. Teamwork is not merely the ability to work together to get from point A to B. The Overhead Reduction Task Force is a case that exhibits this strong need to build a team in order to be the most effective in achieving goals. The group that has been assembled for Larry Williams to lead has many internal issues but also many opportunities for growth. To properly analyze this case, the initial meetings with both Georgia Dixon and the task force members needs to determined followed by predictions on how the first week of the task force went. The meeting with Dixon is crucial for Larry to establish clear and concise goals for himself and his future team. Through this meeting, Larry must also determine Dixon's position on the manner and assess to what extent she will be involved with the team. From the information provided in the case, it is clear that Dixon is essentially "dumping" this task on Larry and that she will not even be present for the first two weeks of the task force. From this, Larry has limited options on how to approach Dixon. Larry needs to identify from Dixon what the...
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...------------------------------------------------- business enviroment ORGANIZATIONAL AND PURPOSE OF BUSINESSES TASK 1 CONTRAST OF TWO MARKETS FOR DIXONS CARPHONE COMPANY TASK 2 December 7, 2014 December 7, 2014 Contents Executive summary 2 Carphone Warehouse 3 Mission 3 Vision 3 Purpose 3 Stakeholders 4 Dixons Carphone plc (Currency GBp) 4 Director Shareholdings 5 Hill Farm Furniture 6 Purpose 6 Mission/Vision 6 Stakeholders 6 CONTRAST OF TWO MARKETS FOR DIXONS CARPHONE PLC 7 Free Market X Command System 7 Competition Policy 7 Conclusion 9 Bibliography 10 Executive summary As the world changing quickly in term of political, economic, social, technological, environment and legal (PESTEL), its happen due many influences either internal or external of the business, if the company do not stay update it can fail, that is important the study of Business Environment. Each country has its own way to control the economy; there are four types of economy such as: command, free market, mixed and transitional. A command economy is “a socialist economic system in which production and distribution of goods and services are controlled by the government and industry is mostly owned”. (Dictionary.com, 2014) A free market economy is “an economy in which the allocation for resources is determined only by their supply and the demand for them. This is mainly a theoretical concept as every country, even capitalist ones, places some restrictions...
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...placed in a group of people and assigned a task that needed to be accomplished. Many of these groups are simply that, a group. The task that many fail to see as the number one objective of the group is to foster a teamwork by actually transforming the group to a cohesive team. The idea sounds fairly simple and transparent, "If everyone works together, we have a team!" This could not be farther from the truth. Teamwork is not merely the ability to work together to get from point A to B. The Overhead Reduction Task Force is a case that exhibits this strong need to build a team in order to be the most effective in achieving goals. The group that has been assembled for Larry Williams to lead has many internal issues but also many opportunities for growth. To properly analyze this case, the initial meetings with both Georgia Dixon and the task force members needs to determined followed by predictions on how the first week of the task force went. The meeting with Dixon is crucial for Larry to establish clear and concise goals for himself and his future team. Through this meeting, Larry must also determine Dixon's position on the manner and assess to what extent she will be involved with the team. From the information provided in the case, it is clear that Dixon is essentially "dumping" this task on Larry and that she will not even be present for the first two weeks of the task force. From this, Larry has limited options on how to approach Dixon. Larry needs to identify from Dixon what the...
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...sales and revenue made over the net on the online database on how much sales the company had made also the taxes and profit they make from net profit. Dixons gross profit is increasing. As its annual report suggests they had made a lot of net sales and generated a lot of profit from it. Recession/Survival Recession is when the economy is at a low and most companies are at a crisis. This is when the company cannot always pay their taxes or stock on time and they will have to increase their profits above targets in order to stay stable during the recession period. The recession can impact Dixons Objectives by making them struggle in generating profit and customer satisfaction as Dixons will have to increase their prices on the products and force to make more sales which can bring unhappy customers to them in doing so. This affects their objectives by a lot. Growth/Market share Market share is the total purchases of a customer of a product or service from Dixons, what percentage goes to a company defines its market share. In other words, if consumers as a whole buy 200 laptops and 40 of which are from one company, that company holds 40% market share. Market share is a measure of the consumers' preference for a product over other similar products. Shares issued by a firm with a consistent record of above average earnings to Dixons. Such as the shares that are expected to trade at an increasing value over an extended period. Managerial...
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...these parties? 2. After being informed about the embezzlement, what actions should Lee and Li take to ensure the firm survives? Be sure to discuss the actions in order of priority. Explain. Case 4: Overhead Reduction Task Force 1(a). If you were Larry Williams, what would you seek to accomplish in your noon meeting with Georgia Dixon? How would you approach her to increase the likelihood that you would achieve your purposes? (b) What would you seek to accomplish in the initial meeting of your task force? What would you do or say in the first few minutes of the first task force meeting to get the task force off to a good start? Consider the following after reading the case: Larry Williams convinces Dixon to come to the first meeting of the task force to "launch" the team. At that meeting, she emphasized that she wanted a 20% reduction in overhead, but that the means to achieve that reduction were up to the task force. She also said that the task force must keep its deliberations confidential, and that the cut could not be accomplished by terminating the most recently hired employees. After Dixon leaves, initial discussion was about whether Dixon could be trusted ("Is she setting us up to...
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...GROUP THREE Dixon Audio Systems Dixon Audio Systems had developed a reputation as a leading producer of speakers, audio systems, and car stereos. Dixon accomplished this through creating strict organizational quality standards and demanding these same standards of its suppliers. Meeting quality standards was critical, particularly of plastic component parts. These parts were sourced from a number of vendors and required considerable experience and skill to make. However, as Dixon’s quality standards increased, the number of defective components returned to vendors increased too. This was increasingly holding up production and costing the company in excess inventory and unmet orders. Dixon’s director of purchasing proposed a new approach to dealing with the vendor quality problem. She proposed that they develop a new arrangement with their top vendor of plastic components, D&S Plastics. Under the relationship, D&S Plastics would become Dixon’s JIT supplier. The arrangement would require D&S to station a full-time representative at Dixon’s headquarters. The representative would be paid by D&S but would work as a plastics buyer for Dixon, placing orders to D&S. The representative would also monitor material requirements on plastic components that D&S supplied to Dixon and become involved in manufacturing planning at Dixon. The plan would provide the D&S representative full access to Dixon’s facilities, personnel, and computer systems. D&S Plastics would be a sole supplier to...
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...notice? O'Connor suggests that we can tolerate mountains of misery, sipping our coffee and reading our newspapers as the corpses pile up beneath the headlines. The Star of the Sea is a leaky old tub sailing from Ireland to New York in the terrible winter of 1847, carrying in its staterooms a reluctantly intertwined collection of characters. The most noteworthy is an Irish aristocrat, David Merridith, Lord Kingscourt, whose Oxford training has shown him ''how to put on like a cheerful idiot'' while he's got his ''hands sliding around your neck.'' Merridith and his family are being stalked by a man named Pius Mulvey, who has been charged, on pain of death, with executing the aristocrat before he reaches America. Mulvey's orders issue from a group of Irishmen who resent Merridith's eviction of his tenants, leaving them to starvation as he takes his bankrupt but very comfy self off to the New World. Connected to both Merridith and Mulvey is a peasant woman, Mary Duane, who has cause to disavow the lot of them, and yet...
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...Dixons Retail PLC Planning for a Multichannel Future Dixons has grown from a one-man band into a fully orchestrated international retail and service operation, which attracts over 100 million shoppers to its stores and online businesses. How did the company get started and then develop into Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailers? This case explores the significance of adopting a market-orientated approach to planning in developing a family of successful international retail brands. Background: start-up to market leader Dixons started out in the photography business during challenging trading times in the early 1940s. By the 1960s the original photographic studio had developed into a relatively large public limited company, with an expanding mail order business and high street retail operation. The business continued to grow in the UK, by opening high street stores selling photographic equipment, computers and other high-tech gadgetry. In the 1990s, the acquisition of PC World, opening tax-free travel stores in airports (Dixons Travel), and expansion into European markets with the acquisition of Elkjøp, a leading Nordic retailer, enabled the business to grow further and more rapidly. More acquisitions in Italy (UniEuro), Russia and the Ukraine and expansion into Ireland, Greece and the Czech Republic enabled Dixons Retail plc to become Europe’s largest specialist electrical retailer and services company, which employs over 38,000 people spread over 26 countries...
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...operations. Apple Inc. said Tuesday that Dixons Retail PLC's John Browett will become its top retail executive on April 20. He will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Browett, 48, fills a job that opened when Ron Johnson left to become the CEO of J.C. Penney Co. in November. Johnson pioneered Apple's highly successful retail stores, known for their stark design and their Genius Bar, where Apple customers get technology advice and support. About two-thirds of Apple's 361 stores are in the U.S. However, of the 40 stores Apple expects to open this fiscal year, three-quarters will be outside the U.S., with China being a major focus. Apple currently has stores in only 12 countries, including the U.S. Browett has served as CEO of Dixons since 2007. During his tenure, the company continued an aggressive expansion in Europe. It has about 1,200 stores and is Europe's second-largest electronics retailer, after Germany's Media Markt. Dixons' brands include Currys in the U.K., Elkjop in Norway, Kotsovolos in Greece, Unieuro in Italy and Electro World in Turkey and the Czech Republic. Analysts give Browett credit for improving customer service at Dixons. "Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we've met," Cook said in a statement Tuesday. The chain hasn't seen much financial success during his tenure, however, as it has been undercut by the recession and subsequent belt-tightening in Europe. Dixons' sales have risen only 8 percent in...
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...How do dreams differ in people with schizophrenia to from those without the disorder? Kristin Staub Brookfield High School Dreaming is a vital part in sleeping, yet in some individuals it interferes in their waking state. For example, schizophrenics have hallucinatory images while they’re not sleeping causing some psychologists to speculate why this happens. People without the disorder and other people with other disorders have been found to dream while they’re in REM sleep which is a major mental process that allows people to dream. The following articles, “Sleep Fantasy in Normal and Schizophrenic Persons,” “An Extension of Freud and Jung’s Theory of Relation of Dream States to Schizophrenia,” “The Neurochemistry of Waking and Sleeping Mental Activity: The Disinhibition-Dopamine Hypothesis,” “Dream Content of Schizophrenics, Nonschizophrenic Mentally Ill, and community Control Adolescents,” “Sleep Disturbance in Schizophrenia” “Rorschach Responses Subsequent to REM Deprivation in Schizophrenic and Nonschizophrenic Patients,” attempt to explain the problem statement: How do dreams differ in people with schizophrenia to those without the disorder, through REM sleep in normal individuals and schizophrenics. Dream content will also be investigated to answer the problem statement and certain sleep habits. In addition Jung’s and Freud’s theory attempt to explain how dreaming is connected with schizophrenia in their conscious state rather than in their sleeping state through...
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...selling its sodium chlorate plant located near Collinsville, Alabama. This provides Dixon Corporation with an opportunity to purchase the plants net assets for the asking price of $12 million. The following analysis is to determine whether or not Dixon should purchase Collinsville plant with debt capital or invest in building a new one. The acquisition is pending approval from Dixon’s Board of Directors. Discussion: Strategy Analysis The purchase of the Collinsville plant offers Dixon an opportunity to grow its market share in the paper and pulp industry. Adding sodium chlorate to its product portfolio will expand its product line and reach in the paper and pulp industry. Dixon and the Collinsville plant have some of the same major customers, which will enable Dixon to market the sodium chlorate through its existing sales team. The Collinsville plant is strategically located in Southeastern U.S., the heart of the paper and pulp industry. This location complements Dixon’s primary facility located in Georgia and creates a localized hub for its sales team. Purchasing the Collinsville plant, provides the following benefits over building a new plant: 1) The Collinsville plant provides the ability to start generating revenue immediately, versus in one to two years. 2) Collinsville’s existing customer base is a benefit since it is harder to acquire new customers than it is to maintain existing ones. 3) Dixon will gain the expertise of the existing Collinsville employees, which is important...
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...1. The main Organizational Behavior problem in “The Overhead Reduction Task Force” case is in creating a leading an effective team, specifically “Office of the President” team. Williams is fretting nervously and rightly so. Our take on the situation is that Dixon just “threw him under the bus”, by putting him in charge of the team and leaving for much needed two weeks vacations after being on the job for one week. 2. Dixon did not do a best possible job in setting up an effective team. An essential elements required for a team to be successful is missing. By focusing on the goal of reducing expenses, instead of focusing on the goal of improving financial standing of the division, she made it very hard for Williams to get everyone aligned. Williams will have an uphill battle convincing department heads that their expenses need to be cut. For example, Mort Burns, head of the sales department is convinced that his department is as lean as it can be. The composition of the team itself is good. “It is made up of a diverse group of the individuals who have the expertise and authority to carry out the task” (1). For the purpose of the goal set by Dixon, Williams is the right person to lead the team. But it is clear that Williams approach is based purely on the numbers and if the goal is to improve financial performance, Williams does not have all the necessary information to make the right decision. For example Williams admits to himself that he does not have information on product...
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... The show "Switched at Birth" tells the story of two teen girls who discover that they were accidentally switched at birth. One of the girls grew up with a white wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while the other lost her hearing as a child due to a case of meningitis, and grew up with a single Hispanic mother in a poor neighborhood. Things become dramatic when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls. It shows a lot of diversity between the families, especially with one of the families being Hispanic, poor and a single mother. You can definitely see the differences. The media seems to show Hispanics as poor and struggling and the "White" family as rich and happy. As an ethnic group Hispanics seem to always be shown as poor. “Jane by Design” is a young teenager whose father died and her mother ran out on Jane and Ben (her older brother) before the series started. Her brother Ben tries to make money by getting jobs, but the jobs never work out until he lands a job as the athletic assistant at Jane's school. Jane tries to secretly help out her brother by getting herself a job. She struggles to be the best at her job and her school. Everyone at her work doesn't know she’s in high school and she keeps it a secret from everyone at school...
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