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STRATEGIC PLANNING
AND
IMPLEMENTATION

ASSIGNMENT
BY

Muhammad Zeeshan

Presented to Archana Karki

London College Of Accountancy And Management
Table of contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................4
Vision Of Fresh Direct.......................................................................................4
Mission Of Fresh Direct....................................................................................4
Goals/Objectives...............................................................................................5
External Analysis of Fresh Direct..................................................................5
Marco Enviroment.............................................................................................5
Industry Analysis...............................................................................................7
Industry Life Cycle............................................................................................7
Competitors.......................................................................................................7
Critical Success Factor.....................................................................................8
Opportunities & Threats....................................................................................9
Internal Analysis...........................................................................................10
Strengths & Weaknesses................................................................................10
Critical Success Factor...................................................................................11
Strategic Options..........................................................................................12
First Strategic Option......................................................................................12
Second Strategic Option.................................................................................12
Third Strategic Option.....................................................................................12
Evaluating The Options................................................................................12
Selected Strategy..........................................................................................13
Action Plan....................................................................................................14
Appendices....................................................................................................16
PESTLE..........................................................................................................16
Porters Five Forces.........................................................................................18
VRIO...............................................................................................................20

Acknowlegements

My first and foremost thanks goes to my God “Allah” who is the creator of the heavens and the earth, without his help i cannot even imegine doing anything in my life.

My deepest regards and thanks goes to Ms Archana Karki who has helped me out through out this assignment. Her guidance and support was always there for me and for which i am very thankful.

I would also like to thank the management of London CAM who provided me with the study material and lab assistance which proved a great help in the completion of this task. A big thankyou to them all.

Task One

Introduction to Fresh Direct

From the given case study we come to know that fresh direct is a online grocery store based in New York. It’s a law abiding company with a hard working administration, an effective management which runs and maintains the company’s website along with maintaining a high product quality while keeping low product prices.

Vision of Fresh Direct

The vision of fresh direct as described by its HR team is “to change customer lives by providing the ultimate shopping experience for impossibly fresh food and meal solutions”
By looking at their vision statement we can observe that the vision of this company is driven by passion for an unbeatable customer service which is an important ingredient for a successful business.

Mission of Fresh Direct

The mission of fresh direct is to take the company to a level where fresh direct is seen not just as another internet grocery selling company but a company which is best at what they do . The CEO of Fresh Direct Mr. Richard Braddock describes the company mission as “Our mission statement is that Fresh Direct its just not simply a grocery store that happens to be on the internet but use a lot of modern techniques to really differentiate ourselves by providing superior solutions for the customer in-terms of their shopping experience, so we are looking to be innovative not simply duplicative”

www.businessweek.com/FreshDirect

Goals/Objectives

The objectives of fresh direct is to provide maximum consumer satisfaction. They want to offer quality products to their customers at a price which is more attractive then their counter parts. They also intend to increase the growth of their business online which at present stands at 3% of the entire online segment in the USA. They intend to look after their customers by offering them a service which would bring the customers back. Fresh direct wants to strengthen its financial position, they want to be better equipped to deal with their competitors. They want an increase in consumer interest in their products. They also want the strength to control & make a long term strong position in their market.

External Analysis Of Fresh Direct

The strategic option which we will generate at the end for Fresh direct will be suggested after the external analysis is carried out. The external analysis of fresh direct will give us a good idea of fresh directs external environment. We will be looking at Macro Environment using PESTLE framework, porters five forces and strategic groupings along with industry life cycle. Below are some of the quotes which identify the significance of these tools.
Chaffee (1985, pp.10) asserts that “strategy is multidimensional and situational”

Thorelli (1977); Masson & Quall (1976) say that “Porter was looking for a theoretical context to add to the analysis as he focused on both content and process called for by both Fahey & Christensen (1986) and Huff & Reger (1987). He popularised the Industrial Organization economics model of Structure--Conduct (strategy)--Performance which claims that forces within the industry determine the conduct of firms, which in turn determines firm performance”.

Marco Environment

When we carried out the PESTLE analysis for Fresh Direct it helped us in finding out the actual challenges that Fresh Direct is to face. They are quiet a few and would require a lot of attention and team effort to be met.

A rise in sales tax by the government is a recent blow to Fresh Direct and it customers. The rise in sales tax brings the news to customers that it will hard for them to get food products at a cheaper rate and for Fresh Direct it will be hard to knock down the prices. Duty on Alcoholic drinks, wine has also been increase to a new high more over the government is planning to extend the congestion charging zone to control the traffic entering Manhattan. As for the deliveries the there is a green zone similar to the one in place in London which only allows those vehicles to enter which comply with the green rules being set up by the government. Congestion charge, the green zone charge and the rise in fuel cost are also making things hard for Fresh Direct. As such charges adversely effect the cost of products.

With the passage of time people all over the world are becoming health conscious. People want to pay less and eat healthy food as health is becoming the top priority of the modern world. At Fresh Direct however the organic food which is hugely popular among such groups seem to be rare. On this selling point the other businesses entering the online grocery market have an edge on Fresh Direct. Despite the backing and the encouragement of the government towards healthy eating Fresh Direct seem to ignore the message.

Unemployment, the recent financial crises and the limited area delivery carried out by Fresh Direct is also effecting the business. With the job market saturated and tough new rules to get credit for public and business alike, things are becoming hard as each day passes by. The area not covered by Fresh Direct is mostly the poor area of Manhattan. This allows other business to take advantage of this opportunity.

Although Fresh direct is a law abiding and a green company which complies with the green rules in place by the government. There is more that needs to be done to improve. The baggage and packing material used by Fresh Direct is not entirely recyclable, which is a down turn for the business amongst such groups. Deliveries made by trucks which pass through the green zone and the noise pollution of the trucks are raising the concerns which would make it tough for Fresh Direct to get deliveries on time and may effect the quantity as smaller and lighter vehicles have less space.

Industry Analysis

It is observed that the threat of the entry level for the kind of business Fresh Direct is operating is fairly low and it will remain low for some time. The reason why low entry level threat is observed is because of the amount of finance required to start up a business from scratch in the online grocery industry and the current financial condition makes it even harder for the new entrants. The groups of people following the healthy food campaign are making it a serious threat for Fresh Direct as they are not very strong the organic food section. This also raises another threat for Fresh Direct as the new business and the existing big business will take advantage of the healthy food craze by extending the variety of the organic food to attract more and more customers. The big business can easily drop the prices to sell big bulks and to control the market which would also make things difficult for Fresh Direct.

Industry Life Cycle

The industry life cycle carried out shows that the online grocery industry is growing as the time is passing by. Although the growth rate seems pretty slow but its happening so to control the market and to give a tit for tat response to the competitors Fresh Direct is required to take a deeper look into what it intends to sell to attract more customers in terms of product and also in terms of pricing compared to other business in the market.
Fahey & Christensen (1986) begin by stating that “strategic content is found in many areas beyond ‘strategic management’ in the literatures of OB, OT, economics, finance and marketing”.

Competitors

In the online grocery store market there are a few big players. These businesses have been in the market for quiet sometime now so they know how to attract more customers. Here are few names which I have come across when carrying out my research. - Safeway - Whole foods - Your grocer - Netgrocer
Business like your grocer and net grocer are the main competitors to Fresh Direct as they are actively working towards extending their variety in organic food. They are also concentrating on the food products for diabetics, low salt and dieters food products.

Critical Success Factor (CSF)

The critical success factor or factors in the case of Fresh Direct are quiet a few and which are proving to take this business to the new heights if they are continuously looked into. Fresh direct is adopting new ways to inform their customers about the food that they consume. When you are dealing with a majority of public who are health cautious then the best way to promote the food products are by coming clean about their nutrition and explaining what one is actually getting when they are consuming a particular product. Fresh direct has decided to print the nutrition information on the packing so the customers know what they are eating. It has proven to build the trust amongst the consumers.
Faster delivery is one of the critical success factors in the case of Fresh Direct. They have done it by taking out the middle man. Which make things much easier and simpler. Local businesses and the public is attracted to Fresh Direct for their good delivery system where deliveries can be made at the door in the region closer to the processing centre. Customers are also given the option to come and collect it from the processing centre if they wish to do so. Local businesses also prefer the service of Fresh Direct because Fresh Direct provides food specially prepared by the chef to the business. Local business use this service of fresh direct whenever possible as they get fresh food prepared and delivered in time for the meetings. Fresh Direct is working towards a market where they are the only one who can provide a variety of alternatives to a product. By doing so the popularity of fresh Direct is no a roll.

Opportunities & threats:

The Internal environment of Fresh Direct gives us a number of opportunities and threats. These are given as follows

Opportunities - The organic food market where Fresh Direct is not very strong. They need to bring in new products. Give their customers the alternatives to the inorganic food. Making sure a good price as compared to their competitors - The jungle is bigger than it seems and Fresh Direct needs to spread out. They have to extend their services to the parts of the city which are poor as well as parts of the city which are hugely populated. - Going green will bring Fresh Direct another step closer to victory over their competitors as people are attracted to environment friendly business. By using recycle able material and giving the customers the opportunity to recycle the packaging material at the processing centre will raise awareness of going green as well as increasing the popularity of the business which will bring the customers back for more. - Different ethnic groups have different types of food. Fresh Direct should target the different types of food widely used. Traditional food products for ethnic minorities at low prices will attract more customers as it will give the competitors a run for their money.

Threats - Rise in the sales tax and duty on alcohol will be a threat to Fresh Direct as well as its competitors. Rise in the fuel prices, congestion charging and green zone will make it hard for Fresh Direct to lower the prices of their products to beat its competitors. - The health cautious public is turning to organic food. Organic food products will need to be introduced to compete in the market. - The current economic situation is also a threat as minimal support from the government will be given in the form of credit. This will make it hard to Fresh Direct to introduce new products. - All the packaging material that is in use should be made recyclable as this would put off the customers who follow the green sign. This also increases the unpopularity of the business as a whole.

Internal Analysis

The main purpose for caring out this internal analysis is to find out the internal strength and weaknesses. This analysis will show us if Fresh direct is strong enough to meet the challenges set by the industry.

Strengths And Weaknesses Of Fresh Direct

Strengths - Quality food at low prices with an increasing variety of food products to choose from under one roof. - Well trained staff and well equipped production centre for providing optimum customer service. - Health & safety is maintained at all times at all sections to ensure minimum accidents at work. - Special attention to hygiene at the production centre so that the customers and staff can both enjoy a clean, attractive and pleasant environment at Fresh Direct. - Software used by Fresh Direct is a great help as it keeps the track of the various facilities in use. - Fresh Direct keeps on adding new components to its business to bring their customers back. - Fresh Direct operates a very comprehensive delivery system which allows maximum convenience to the customers. - The brand name of Fresh Direct is big and is going even bigger as this company has built a relation of trust with its customers by keeping up their promise of providing premium service at a low price.

Weaknesses - The variety of food products specially the organic food is an issue with Fresh Direct as there are not many products for a customer to choose from. - Delivery to some parts of New York is not carried out which limits the progress of business. - Not having organic food variety is a weakness which Fresh Direct needs to look in to if they wish to attract more customers.

Critical Success Factor (CSF)
AT Fresh direct the main emphasis is provide the best and unbeatable customers service. To get that optimum level of customer services Fresh Direct employees are specially trained to make sure that their valued customer go with a smile on their face. Fresh Direct on itself: “ we make money doing this. Period. The end”. The man responsible for running Fresh Direct is the CEO Jason Ackerman who is an experienced investment banker.
The deliveries made on door are carried out in trucks which have built in refrigerators to ensure the freshness of the food products. The delivery system is very swift as well and that gives Fresh Direct the edge over its rivals. Fresh Direct says on its web site “Our customers keep us very busy – our customer services team don their Britney style headsets and take more than 35,000 orders a week. But there’s no 0845 numbers for us – just good, old fashioned personable service”.
Software in production centre which monitors the facilities also keeps track of the temperature in the processing centre, this is to ensure the desired temperature is maintained at all times for the long lasting freshness of the food products. People responsible for monitoring and controlling the website are the experts who know exactly what they are suppose to do at the time of crises.

Task Two

Strategic Options

First Strategic Option
The first strategic option that Fresh Direct has is the Product development strategy. In this strategy Fresh direct will be required to start/introduce a new product. Which according to the case study and the research taken out happens to be organic food product. If Fresh Direct introduces the organic food products then the business will be attracting all those consumers who are a health cautious. This will increase the number of customers for Fresh Direct and will make the brand name of fresh direct more stronger.

Second Strategic Option
The second strategic option for Fresh Direct is the Market Penetration. To attract more customers Fresh Direct will have to drop the price to compete with the growing rivals and also to sell more units. This will attract more customers towards Fresh Direct and it will build a relation of trust with the customers as they will be getting quality products at the lowest price.

Third Strategic Option
The third strategic option for Fresh Direct is Market Development. If Fresh Direct extends their business to other parts of the USA and not just the poorer parts of New York then that would give Fresh Direct an edge over its competitors. Such expansion of business will attract more customers and will also help in selling more products. With this strategy Fresh Direct will also be adding the different types of food products to their range according to the traditions and the consumer demand in different parts of the country.

Evaluating The Options

The strategic options generated above will be evaluated in terms of - Suitability: Is the strategy any good according to the current circumstances. - Acceptability: Will it meet the requirements of the clients/stakeholders. - Feasibility: Is it going to work according to the capabilities of the company.

|STRATEGY |SUITABILITY |ACCEPTIBILITY |FEASIBILITY |TOTAL SCORE |
|Product Development |2 |2 |1 |5 |
|Strategy | | | | |
|Market Penetration |3 |2 |2 |7 |
|Strategy | | | | |
|Market Development |3 |4 |3 |10 |
|Strategy | | | | |

Note: Scoring is done between 1-5 where 1 is the lowest score and 5 is the highest score.

Selected Strategy

The Market Development Strategy is the selected strategy for Fresh Direct as it has scored top marks in the evaluation process. This strategy fits the criteria suitability, acceptability and feasibility for Fresh Direct.
With new competitors entering the market, Fresh Direct needs to take some bold decisions. The increasing population of USA have increasing demand of food and with the poverty on the rise as well at the same time Fresh Direct needs to expand. Not just nationally but internationally as well. It should be decided on which parts of the country should be given the priority or where the public needs it most. Opening the branches in parts where the majority of consumers are poor will give Fresh Direct a chance to built a long lasting and trustable relation with their customers. Parts of the country where minimum rivalry is detected should also be added to the list. As these areas will bring the life into the future of Fresh Direct. Offering the best quality food products at a low price through out the country will an optimum customer service will immensely benefit Fresh Direct.
The advertisement of the new branches to be opened up should be forwarded to the media. People should be made aware that Fresh Direct is the only company which will be opening up a branch in their neighbour hood to serve their customers. Different incentives and deals acceptable in different branches in different parts of the USA will make more sales.
When expanding the business to other parts of the country it has to be kept in mind that the taste of food changes as you move and so does the food traditions. As part of the grand expansion of Fresh direct it will be kept in mind at all times the staff is fully aware of the traditions and the needs of the customers living in different parts of the country. Fresh Direct will be expanding their food range to the needs of the customers of that particular area special deals will also make the shelves go empty in no time.
Multiple branches operating in different parts of the country will give Fresh Direct a controlling position of the market. It will give Fresh Direct an edge over it competitors and will increase the trust of public for Fresh Direct.

Task Three

Action Plan

To implement the selected strategy I suggest that the implementation should take place over the next 9 months. It will be reviewed every two months. The first step to get the things going will be to decide the funding amount and the stake holders should be informed of this new move the business is going to make. With the financial crises coming back to normal in USA it will be a good idea to ask for help from local government. This will increase the sense of responsibility with in the Fresh Direct staff and it will also build a relation of trust between the corporate industry and the government.
The marketing and the advertising department of Fresh Direct will be required to pin point locations where branches of Fresh Direct are required as such area have been neglected by the competitors. Before the launch of any new branch the area should be survey where members of public should be briefly interviewed on how they would feel is a company like Fresh Direct wants to open up a branch in their area for the convenience of the local public. The views of the public should be taken down about different issues from the type of food they want to eat at the pricing and pollution. Every thing should be documented and should be sent to the CEO in the form of a report which would suggest either to go ahead or not and which issues need to be kept in mind if a branch has to be opened in such area. Such report will also include any special requirements and food products according to the needs and the traditions of the area.
New branches will create more job vacancies. Which will make Fresh Direct a brand that people will love. New staff should be motivated by the senior managers to support the new strategy Fresh Direct is has adopted. Letter from the CEO will also be given to the new employees of what is expected of them under the newly adopted strategy. The new staff will be driven as the job opportunities are still very hard to get by despite the credit crunch getting back on track.
Customers entering the new store will be given exclusive offers and the reaction of the consumers to these offers will show the amount of interest of the local public. A report on this will be sent to the marketing department to get it analysed. At the end of every month the staff at the new stores will be asked to give their valued feed back to the floor managers who will forward the staff feed back along with customers feedbacks carried out in store to the marketing department. The marketing department of Fresh Direct will analyse this report and will forward it to the CEO at the end of the 2nd month where the financial reports from the accounts will also be looked at along with these reports from the marketing department.

APPENDICES

Pestle analysis

Political Considerations
There are several political factors that are affecting Fresh Direct. Fresh Direct is looking at a tough competition a head as several new stores have been given the green light by the government to open up their branches in areas specially where poverty rate is on an increase. Government has recently increased the sales tax to 81%. Duty on fuel, wine, alcohol and other alcoholic drinks has also been increased. Traffic in Manhattan is controlled by a congestion charging system similar to the one used in London. The new suggested increase in the congestion charging rate for Manhattan is also a political factor affecting Fresh Direct.

Economical Considerations
The recent economic crisis has made it hard for business through out the world. With interest rates going high many businesses are struggling. The growth and development of a business requires more capital in the current situation. The economic crisis(Credit Crunch) has affected the job industry at the same time as businesses are forced to save money and cut their expenses. As a result, unemployment and the cost of living is on the rise. Rise in the prices of vegetables, fruits, grocery products, transformation and raw materials etc has happened due to inflation.

Socio-Cultural Considerations
New York Manhattan is a city which accommodates people from different races, religions & backgrounds. Although fast food is one of the biggest food industries which is in business in this city but as the time is passing by people are becoming more and more aware of the health related issues. The health conscious public of Manhattan is now turning to organic food so they could get rid of the obsessed culture of eating unhealthy food. This kind of diet leads to diseases like blood pressure and heart related problems etc. the government of New York Manhattan is also encouraging people to eat healthy and fresh food as well as business to sell the quality food to all parts of the city including the not so populated area of Manhattan.
Gergen (1994) Culture, defined as “a series of social systems, effects and is affected by firms, industries and economies”.

Technological Considerations
As the time is passing by more and more people are turning to internet for latest deals on products of daily use. People are trying to find better deals and products by the use of this technology. With this growth of people using internet, new companies taking the leap into online selling. Technology is making it easier for companies to carry out research and development products to satisfy the needs of their customer. There is a lot of support and emphasis from government as well for such products.

Environmental Considerations
Growth of the food products are affected by the environmental conditions which are deteriorating day by day. The huge population of Manhattan is on the rise with poverty is also on an increase. This brings the problems of waste disposal, pollution and recycling. The support of government is available for all those companies which are working hard to keep their work & the city as green as possible where as those who do not contribute towards such environmental issues are slapped with green tax.

Legal Considerations
Businesses like Fresh Direct are expected to fully comply with the health & safety and the hygiene policy. Such industries also have to meet the set standard when labelling the products to guide the customers on ingredient and nutrition contained in the product. Such standards are set under the Education Act 1990 and Consumer Act 2004 which have to be complied with.

Porter’s Five Forces

The threat of entry: Barriers to entry: LOW - For a new business to enter the online grocery industry will be pretty hard as it involves high costs to run and maintain an online shop. Without a strong it staff backing which also does not comes cheap along with the technical equipment and necessary training a business could be in for a big shock. - There are businesses in the online shopping industries which literally own the internet when it comes to online sales. For such businesses it is pretty easy to kick a new company out of business by simply dropping the prices. This will give them higher sales on a low profit margin but they will keep the strong hold on the market as a new business will not be able to go through a massive loss on the initial stage. The delivery method in place by the giant’s are much reliable & faster which is one of the priorities. - Different rules and regulations are brought into force by the government makes it hard for the new entrants to establish themselves going in and out of the congestion charging zone, increase in duty and other taxes also make it hard for the new entrants to enter the online grocery business.

Threat From Substitutes: HIGH - In grocery the substitute for organic food is inorganic food. According to a recent survey health cautious people prefer organic food to inorganic food products as they don’t like pesticides on the their tomatoes. A recent research however has showed that there is no difference in nutrition of organic and inorganic products. - Customers who prefer a low price and who are not bothered weather the food they are eating is organic or not will end up paying a low price for in organic food. - The amount of variety available in the inorganic food makes the situation even worse for business like Fresh Direct, as the lower value food products are insanely cheap and are price wise hard to compete.

The Power Of Buyers: HIGH - Buyers are in control of a high bargaining power as they can buy huge bulks and ask for a bargain price. - As the buyers can compare the deals and prices from different sellers in a matter of a few clicks. This gives them a high bargaining power when purchasing goods online. - Buyer can save even more if they are a regular registered customer online.

The Power Of Suppliers: LOW - The economic crises has made it very hard for suppliers to stay in control as they are constantly pressurised by the whole sellers like Fresh Direct to lower their margins so that the whole sellers can meet the demand of quality products at low prices from their customers. - Fresh direct uses alternative supplier all the time to ensure the constant delivery of the product in case the main supplier is unable to supply the required amount of food products. - To maintain a constant supply at a cheaper rate Fresh Direct signs up contacts with different suppliers spread on various durations.

Competitive Rivalry: HIGH - More and more companies like Fresh Direct are entering the online business trade. Lowering the price is never an easy decision for a new business but in the world of online sales the one with the lowest price for a quality product wins. - Companies who intend to sell quality substitutes are also rival of fresh Direct as they would attract customers for a substitute at a low price. - With the increasing numbers of competitors, some companies can reduce their prices below market rate to sell huge volumes of products. The low price would attract the customers and the company with most sales will be in controlling position.

VRIO
| |VALUE |RARENESS |IMITABILITY |ORGANISATION |COMPETITIVE |
| | | | | |IMPLICATIONS |
|Brand |YES |NO |NO |YES |Competitive Parity |
| Train staff |YES |NO |NO |YES |Competitive Parity |
|Reputation |YES |YES |YES |YES |Sustained Competitive |
| | | | | |Advantage |
|Deliveries |YES |YES |NO |YES |Sustained Competitive |
| | | | | |Advantage |
|Financial |YES |NO |NO |YES |Competitive Parity |
|Situation | | | | | |

References:

Chaffee, E. 1985. Three models of strategy: Academy of Management Review.

Thorelli, H.B. 1977. Strategy + Structure = Performance: The Strategic Planning Imperative, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Fahey, L & HK Christensen. 1986. Evaluating the research on strategy content: Journal of Management.

Gergen, K.J. 1994. Realities and Relationships: Soundings in Social Construction Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

New York Restaurants. 2009. Splat [Online]
Available at: http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/industry/n_10421/ [Accessed 28 February 2010]

Fresh Direct. 2010. Background [Online]
Available at: http://www.freshdirect.co.uk/about/background.aspx [Accessed 28 February 2010]

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...The 6th International Scientific Conference “DEFENSE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE 21st CENTURY” Braşov, December 02-03, 2011 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE LTC. Tirtan Catalin Army Academy “Nicolae Bălcescu”/ Sibiu/ Romania Abstract: This article examines the existing literature on relationships between an organization and its culture, processes and approaches, individual efforts of those involved from leaders to employee. The paper further argues that certain organizational cultural attributes contribute to the shaping of future courses of action, failure or not in achieving change, and considerate the goals and strategies of the business. Next, this article focuses on vision, values, and mission as core descriptive of an organization and the climate required for successful achievement of the mission statement and vision statement. Basically, organizational culture is the personality of the organization, and will drive the employee’s efficiency and company performance levels. Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artifacts) of organization members and their behaviors, and leadership. Keywords: Organizational, vision, mission, culture, performance, culture of forgiveness, and leadership 1. Introduction Organizational culture can be described as “the personality of an organization”, or simply as “how things are done around here”. It shows how employees think, act, and feel. Organization culture is a key aspect to the organization's success...

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...PROLOGUE GILGAMESH KING IN URUK I WILL proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, returning he rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story. When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man. In Uruk he built walls, a great rampart, and the temple of blessed Eanna for the god of the firmament Anu, and for Ishtar the goddess of love. Look at it still today: the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal. Touch the threshold, it is ancient. Approach Eanna the dwelling of Ishtar, our lady of love and war, the like of which no latter-day king, no man alive can equal. Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the. masonry: is it not burnt brick and good? The seven sages laid the foundations THE COMING OF ENKIDU GILGAMESH went abroad in the world, but he met with none who could withstand his arms till be came to Uruk. But the men...

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...Associate Level Material Bob Purcell Appendix B Price Elasticity and Supply & Demand Fill in the matrix below and describe how changes in price or quantity of the goods and services affect either supply or demand and the equilibrium price. Use the graphs from your book and the Tomlinson video tutorials as a tool to help you answer questions about the changes in price and quantity Event | Market affected by event | Shift in supply, demand, or both. Explain your answer. | Change in equilibrium | Frozen orange crops in California | Orange juice | Supply (left)—Not as many available oranges to offer consumers. | Price will increase and quantity will decrease. | Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast | Retail | Demand- food, water and emergency rescue. | Supply will increase and prices will decrease. | Cost of cotton decreases | cotton | Demand is higher due to lower prices and the supply lowers. | Price and quantity both decrease. | Technology improves efficiency in pasta manufacturing | pasta | Demand will remain the same and there will be little shift in supply. | Supply and demand are evenly balanced. | * 1. What do substitutes refer to in economics? Give an example of two substitutes. “When a fall in the price of one good reduces the demand for another good, the two goods are called substitutes” (Mankiw, 2007, p.68). Substitutes are goods that can be used to take the place of the other. For instance, if the price of Coca-Cola and Pepsi are high...

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...1. ------------------------------------------------- cupcake ------------------------------------------------- Ingredients • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour • 1 1/3 cups sugar • 3 teaspoons baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/2 cup shortening • 1 cup milk • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 large eggs ------------------------------------------------- Easy Cupcake Recipe Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add shortening, milk, and vanilla.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  Scrape side of bowl with a spatula. Add eggs to the mixture.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  Scrape bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed. Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely. Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with your favorite frosting recipe or decorate as you desire. 2. Cupcake ------------------------------------------------- Ingredients • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 large eggs • 2/3 cup butter, softened • 1 and 1/4 cup water • 2 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour • 1 and 3/4 cup sugar • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda • 1/4 teaspoon salt ------------------------------------------------- ...

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...Insomnia I woke up, bathed in sweat. Once again a nightmare disturbed my night´s sleep. It was too early to early to get up, but I was restless. I knew I would not be able to fall asleep again, doesn´t matter how hard I´d try. I hated to get up at an unearthly hour! I rolled out of bed and trudged into the kitchen to have some lemonade. It was still dark outside and the windy weather made the trees outside scratch against my windows. The thought about my nightmare disgusted me. I drank my glass of lemonade at one go. Afterwards I went to the bathroom to get some cold water in my face to refresh up a bit. I looked myself in the eyes in the mirror with dislike, wondering why such nightmares were torturing me night after night. I hated myself for that, but could not help it anyway. All day long at work I was absent and worn out. All I could think about was that I wanted some sleep. I felt like I did not sleep a wink last night. Pictures from the nightmare whirled around in my head like an infinite movie. The whole day was a pure nightmare too, people looked strangely at me like I was a sick person instead of asking how I felt. But on the other hand I would not like to answer if they did anyway. None of their business. That night I lay in my bed and stared around in the room for indefinite time. I felt so tired, but I was afraid of falling asleep to get hunted by nightmares again. I thought about how I could make an end of this riot. I was sick and tired of that condition...

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...ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF COMMERCE [pic] Organizational Behavior and Management Instructor: Dr. Aly A. Messallam Term Paper Impact of Motivation On Employee’s Performance & Turnover Prepared By: Amr A. Lotfy Table of content 1- Abstract ……………………………………………….3 2- Introduction………………………………………….4 3- Literature review………………………………….4 4- Motivation theories…………………………...…5 5- Turnover…………………………………..………….11 6- Performance Improvement and Appraisal for Employees……………..15 7- Existing situation………………………………..17 8- Conclusion and suggestions………………..18 9- References…………………………………………..19 1- Abstract In any organization employee motivation is the key factor for organizational performance. Since motivation influences productivity, managers need to understand what motivates employees to reach peak performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and their organization's practices. Managers pay a heavy price when employees have motivation problems. When high-performing employees have unresolved motivation issues, their performance either declines or they leave for another job. When poor-performing employees are not motivated to improve, they drag down results, reduce productivity among their team members and, worse, seldom leave because they have no place to go. Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (AMOC) is an industrial company working in the field of petroleum...

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...Wiki Loves Monuments: Photograph a monument, help Wikipedia and win! Production theory From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Production theory is the study of production, or the economic process of converting inputs into outputs. Production uses resources to create a good or service that is suitable for use, gift-giving in a gift economy, or exchange in a market economy. This can include manufacturing, storing, shipping, and packaging. Some economists define production broadly as all economic activity other than consumption. They see every commercial activity other than the final purchase as some form of production. Production is a process, and as such it occurs through time and space. Because it is a flow concept, production is measured as a “rate of output per period of time”. There are three aspects to production processes: 1. the quantity of the good or service produced, 2. the form of the good or service created, 3. The temporal and spatial distribution of the good or service produced. A production process can be defined as any activity that increases the similarity between the pattern of demand for goods and services, and the quantity, form, shape, size, length and distribution of these goods and services available to the market place. Contents * 1 Neoclassical Theory of Production * 1.1 Factors of production * 1.2 Total, average, and marginal product * 1.3 Diminishing returns * 1.4 Diminishing marginal returns...

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...Website: www.bangladesh-bank.org www.bangladeshbank.org.bd www.bb.org.bd Banking Regulation & Policy Department Bangladesh Bank Head Office Dhaka BRPD Circular No.02 Date: February 27, 2011 ---------------------Falgun 15, 1417 Chief Executives All Scheduled Banks in Bangladesh Policy Guidelines for Green Banking Introduction: We are aware that global warming is an issue that calls for a global response. The rapid change in climate will be too great to allow many eco-systems to suitably adapt, since the change have direct impact on biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, dry land, water resources and human health. Due to unusual weather pattern, rising greenhouse gas, declining air quality etc. society demands that business also take responsibility in safeguarding the planet. Green finance as a part of Green Banking makes great contribution to the transition to resource-efficient and low carbon industries i.e. green industry and green economy in general. Green banking is a component of the global initiative by a group of stakeholders to save environment. The state of environment in Bangladesh is rapidly deteriorating. The key areas of environmental degradation cover air pollution, water pollution and scarcity, encroachment of rivers, improper disposal of industrial medical and house-hold waste, deforestation, loss of open space and loss of biodiversity. In addition, Bangladesh is one of the most climate change vulnerable countries. In line with ...

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...Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the entire OII team for their support of OxIS research. Our particular thanks to Prof. Helen Margetts, Dr Rebecca Eynon and Martin Dimov for their contributions to this report. We also wish to acknowledge Kunika Kono and David Sutcliffe for their design and editorial support of this report. For their early contributions to OxIS we would like to thank Prof. Richard Rose, Dr Adrian Shepherd, and Dr Corinna di Gennaro. All have helped shape the evolution of this research. We are grateful for the support of OxIS 2007 by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and sponsorship of the OxIS 2007 Survey by The British Library, Cisco, Ofcom, and Talisma. Our colleagues from these sponsoring organisations have made valuable comments, helping to ensure that OxIS continues to address enduring as well as emerging issues of policy and practice. Please cite the source of text and data excerpts as: Dutton, W. and Helsper, E.J. (2007) The Internet in Britain: 2007. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford (Oxford, UK). © The University of Oxford for the Oxford Internet Printed copies can be ordered from the enquiries assistant at: enquiries@oii.ox.ac.uk. Copies cost £5 each (to cover the cost of postage and handling). All orders should be sent along with full payment in UK Pounds Sterling to: Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JS, United Kingdom. Please do not send cash. Cheques should be drawn...

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...Ozone Layer Depletion: Introduction Are we damaging our protective blanket? Sunlight contains some ultraviolet light, and when we expose ourselves to too much of it, we get a sunburn. Over time, too much exposure to ultraviolet light can lead to cataracts and skin cancer. The earth has a layer in the upper atmosphere, consisting mostly of ozone gas, that filters out most of the ultraviolet in the sun's radiation. Recently there has been scientific evidence that we have been releasing gases that damage this layer. Our country and others have reacted by invoking legislation that should eliminate these contaminants from the atmosphere.   What does the Ozone Layer do? * Ozone absorbs 99% of the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Without the Ozone Layer * Most of the harmful UV radiation will penetrate the atmosphere. The Ozone Layer The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 97-99% of the sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. Over 90% of ozone in earth's atmosphere is present here "Relatively high" means a few parts per million—much higher than the concentrations in the lower atmosphere but still small compared to the main components of the atmosphere. It is mainly located in the lower portion...

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...BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION FACULTY OF COMMERCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS COURSE OUTLINE FOR ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES1 – EC101 Lecturers : A.Chingarande (0776326638), F. Tafirei (0772757491) & M. Mzumara (0712737723) Emails : achingarande@buse.ac.zw, ftafirei@buse.ac.zw & mmzumara@buse.ac.zw Consulting Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays 0900 Hrs – 1100Hrs or by appointment Venue : Office No H8 (Clinic Office) Main Campus Course Aims:   Provide a basis of factual knowledge of economics; Encourage the student to develop:  a facility for self-expression, not only in writing but also in using additional aids, such as statistics and diagrams, where appropriate;  the habit of using works of reference as sources of data specific to economics;  the habit of reading critically to gain information about the changing economy we live in; and  an appreciation of the methods of study used by the economist, and of the most effective ways economic data may be analysed, correlated, discussed and presented. Course Objectives:      Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the specified content; Interpret economic information presented in verbal, numerical or graphical form; Explain and analyse economic issues and arguments, using relevant economic concepts, theories and information; Evaluate economic information, arguments, proposals and policies, taking into consideration relevant information and theory, and distinguishing facts from hypothetical statements and value...

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