Business Policy and Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Policy and Strategic Management - Essay Example It is a discount store outlet, focused on marketing brand names for lower prices. Similar stores such as Woolco and Kmart were not as successful as WalMart, because the latter had some unique operating principles which worked to its benefit. After four decades of operation, Woolco outlets have disappeared, while Kmart has moved into bankruptcy, so that WalMart is the top ranking store in the United States. In international locations, Walmart attracted customers by its Everyday Low Prices. It maintained a relentless cost control system by allowing few perks for its officers and employees. It was also able to negotiate tough deals with its suppliers, using its ability to place bulk orders to also make other demand such as high quality and low prices, which it then passed on to its customers. It maintained several distribution outlets and initiated an electronic data interchange system, allowing suppliers to track sales to deliver new stocks and they were also able to exchange invoices, purchase orders and other documents electronically. Another important aspect contributing to Walmart’s success is its human resource and motivational policies.

Green motorsports Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Green motorsports - Research Paper Example The diesel-powered Audi emerged the winner with almost 100 points clear from their closest rivals in the American Le Mans Series. In the United Kingdom, Team West Racing used Ethanol fueled MG Zs in Touring Car Championship. In the Economics of Climate Change, it is recommended that swift and very proactive action be considered so as to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and stabilise it between four hundred and fifty thousand and five hundred and fifty thousand parts per million (Autosport magazine 76 ). If this is not done, there would be dangerous consequences and if the actions are carried out weakly, the situation would probably stabilise at upper limit. For this to happen, the global emissions would have to decrease by twenty five percent by middle of this century, and in particular, countries which are higher level emitters would have to cut down the emissions by even a higher margin. In the UK, the government has stepped up its effort through commissioning of a transport study so as to respond to the challenges that are posed by climate change to buffer against economic and environmental perils. There is continuous pressure from the scientific world for interventions to be carried out more vigorously to be able to combat climate change. It is notable that although there is unanimity for the need of strong actions against climate change, just a handful of the views, sometimes only those appearing maverick, get exagerrated attention. There is unanimous agreement that the first step in reducing the green house gas emisions is energy efficiency. The transport sector is envisaging the use of small cars which will be much more energy efficient for local use in their own high speed lanes. These cars would abe able to convey at least tenfold as many people as would the personal cars. Additionally, it is easier to imagine micro wind turbines or solar panels mounted on top of their garages to top up their their energy

Influence Of Sales Promotion Impulse Purchase Buying Behaviour Marketing Essay

Influence Of Sales Promotion Impulse Purchase Buying Behaviour Marketing Essay Purpose The purpose of this dissertation is to find out the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase buying behaviour. This research is focused on the grocery retailer Tesco. Findings- From this study, it has been understood that sales promotions have a major influence on the impulse purchasing behaviour of consumers. It has also been verified that price promotion is the most influencing factor of sales promotion, which drives consumers towards impulse purchase. Conclusions and recommendations at the end of this research will be useful for students who study consumer buying behaviour and for retailers to implement a strategy for sales promotion. Originality/Value: Previous researches that has been carried out about impulse purchase has been influence of culture, mood etc. The function of this research is to find the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase, which is important especially during the current economic recession. Introduction: This section of the dissertation outlines the research topic the researcher chose to study as part of his Masters in Business Administration (International) in Dublin Business School. This section is divided into the following parts. Background of the research Suitability of the researcher and interest in subject Research Objectives and Hypotheses Approach to the dissertation Recipients of the research Organisation of the research Scope and limitations of the study Background of the research: Ones own personal shopping experiences verify that occasionally we go into a store with no planned purchases in mind. Usually, however we go into a store planning to buy one or more specific items. Sometimes we know that those planned items are offered at a sale price, sometimes they are at regular price, and sometimes a mixture of both. We usually have an idea how much it will cost and how many of them we plan to buy. However, once we are in the store, we sometimes buy all we planned to buy; sometimes we buy more than we planned to buy. This would have happened because of something that stimulated us inside the store. It could be because of various reasons like sales promotions or store atmospherics or uniqueness of the product. This study is based on the influence of sales promotions on unplanned purchases like this called impulse purchase. Consumers buying behaviour is based on the needs of the consumer. This goes down to the basic level of consumer needs developed by Maslow(1971). He suggested a hierarchy of needs from the most basic to the most civilised one. Physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualisation needs. To satisfy the needs, consumer buys things and this study is on the consumer buying behaviour. The consumer buying behaviour goes through a five sequential steps that is explained in the literature review of this article. Practically, when a consumer feels the need for buying things, he/she goes for shopping. There are many types of shops available, but the retail shop is where consumers can buy the things that they need for daily life. The concept of retail shops are now changing with the evolution of large supermarkets. Retail shops are now becoming one-stop-shops called super markets, offering vast number of product categories and services ranging from fruits and vegetables, off-licence, bakery, butcher facilities and even pharmaceuticals. It is a common fact that the large grocery stores and super markets have an unfair advantage over small players, by using a low cost selling, which the small convenience stores struggle to match. The Irish grocery retail market has evolved with many changes over the last few years. Tesco is one of the main players that exist in Irish grocery retail market. Organisations have started changing the methods of their grocery business over the last decade. There are innovations coming in the market everyday to attract new consumers and to retain them for a long period. Sales promotion is a quick way to strengthen the sales of an organisation. According to Kotler(2003), sales promotion is a key ingredient in marketing campaign which consists of diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of a particular products or services by consumers or trade. It is one of the effective methods in creating savings to the regular grocery shoppers. For retailers, the sales promotion is an excellent opportunity to promote their products in bulk thereby increase profit margins and consumer loyalty. There are various sales promotion tools used by the retailers, price promotion being one of them. Price promotions help the consumers to buy their goods for a reduced price. There are various types of p romotions which are described in the literature. A phenomenon called impulse purchase is considered as different form of consumer buying action. Impulse purchasing is a phenomenon by which a consumer experiences a sudden and often persistent urge to buy something immediately (Rook, 1987). It is an enigma in the marketing world, which accounts for substantial volume of goods sold every year. It is said that 80 percent of all purchases in some particular goods categories is made through impulse purchase. Virvialite(2009) based on Kacen and Lee(2002).This is a widely used by the retailers as they attract the consumers to buy things impulsively. At the present market conditions, when market competition is high and all types of companies apply promotion in their activities, stimulation of impulse purchasing in the market of consumer goods may become a strong competitive advantage. We go through this phenomenon in our daily life, knowingly or unknowingly. It is the feeling that one cannot resist at that moment, which are affected many fa ctors. An example of this would be when we see an advertisement in the store where it says Half Price sale, Was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3.99, Now à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.99. The aim of this study is to study the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase. This research determines if the consumers go for an impulse purchase, if there are sales promotions. There is also a second part to this research which determines if the price promotion is the most important factor in sales promotion that leads the consumer to impulse purchase. This study is an important one considering the current economic climate. In this recessionary period, consumers who are doing grocery shopping actually care for the price factor and look for goods that are value for money. This study establishes the relation between sales promotion and impulse purchase. 2. Suitability of the researcher and the interest in the subject: The researcher is an engineering graduate in Information Technology. The researcher has four years of work experience in I.T and business fields. Researcher has a family business back India, which deals with retail and wholesale trading of steel products. The researcher was taking care of business for one year before coming to Ireland and has an idea of what is happening in the real business world. The ultimate career goal is to take over the family business and expand it with more concentration on retail sector. This study on consumer buying behaviour will certainly help the researcher in achieving this goal. The researcher is currently working in the retail sector and has observed many consumers going for impulse purchase because of the sales promotions. The researcher himself has fallen into the trap of impulse purchase when doing the grocery shopping on many occasions. This has specifically happened after the researcher came to Ireland where there are more sales promotions than seen elsewhere. This curiosity of the researcher encouraged to do a research on the influence of sales promotion on impulse purchase. Organisation chosen for the research: This research is conducted in Tesco, one of the biggest grocery retailers in Ireland. Tesco was founded by Jack Cohenand in 1919 and developed its first super market in 1956. They have come a long way through and now is the fourth largest retailer in the world, measured by revenues and second largest measured by profits. Tesco has its base at The United Kingdom and is spread across 14 countries all over the world. The company started its operations in Ireland as Tesco Ireland in 1997. The theme Every Little Helps is very popular in Ireland. Tesco has almost all the services that is needed in our daily life, including groceries, bakery, clothing, and mobile network. The researcher chose Tesco for the research because of he considers it as the best place where the study of sales promotion and impulse purchasing can be done in the context of a grocery-shopping environment. The research takes place in Tesco, Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland. 3. Research Topic: Influence of sales promotion on impulse purchasing behaviour in the context of a grocery store. The aim of this research is to find out the influence of sales promotional activities on impulse buying behaviour in the context of a grocery retail store. With this purpose, the research will be conducted in Tesco, Parnell Street, Dublin, Ireland. This research focuses on answering the following questions: 1. Do sales promotional activities in store have a major influence on consumers impulse buying behaviour? 2. Is price promotion the major factor in sales promotion, which drives the consumers towards impulse purchase? Objectives: In order to answer each of these questions, the researcher came out with the following objectives. To identify the sales promotional activities in the store To find out if consumers actually go for an impulse purchase and the most influencing factor that affects it To determine if price promotion is the most influencing factor of sales promotion and if consumer purchase low priced items during impulse buying To justify this research, and to obtain the answer for the research questions, certain assumptions were made initially. Two hypotheses were developed which needs to be proved or disapproved. Hypothesis: H1: Sales promotional activities in the store have a major influence on customers impulse buying behaviour H2: Price promotion is the most influencing factor of sales promotion, which drives consumers towards impulse purchase. Approach to the Dissertation: The objectives derived will be obtained systematically in the research. Firstly, the secondary research is conducted using relevant sources to understand the research problem area in depth. Various sources like journals, textbooks, magazines and websites will be used in accordance with academic regulations. Primary research is carried out next with the help of self-administered questionnaires and focus group interviews. The quantitative data obtained through questionnaires are then analysed with the help of appropriate statistical tool and the result will be drawn. The hypotheses will then be tested with the results obtained and will proved or disapproved. Conclusions will be made and recommendations will be proposed based on the results. Recipients of the research: There are five recipients of the research that is conducted as part of Masters in Business Administration (International) in Dublin Business School. They are as follows: Dublin Business School where this researcher is a full time student studying for his qualification Liverpool John Moores university, who provides the qualification which the student is studying for Mrs. Linda Moran, who is dissertation supervisor, who guided the author through research process to date Staff and management of Tesco Ireland Ltd, who gave the permission for the research to be conducted on them Anybody who has interest in marketing specifically consumer buying behaviour, sales promotion and impulse purchase Organisation of the Research: Chapter 1: Introduction This section of the dissertation introduces the background of the research, the suitability of the researcher and the interest in the topic.   This section also states the research objectives and hypotheses. Further, it gives a brief description about how the research is carried out. This section also mentions the recipients of the research and also about the scope and limitations of the research.   Chapter 2: Literature Review This section the researcher critically reviews the literature which provides the theoretical background to the study. In the first section, the consumer buying behaviour is described in general. Further, the researcher introduces the concept of impulse purchase. The next section explains the sales promotions and its different types. The final section describes the relation between sales promotion and impulse purchase. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This section describes the research methodology adopted for undertaking the research. This chapter begins with the research onion proposed by Saunders et al.(2007) and proceeds layer by layer beginning from research philosophy towards data analysis. The justification of population and sampling method used are also discussed later. Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings. This section describes the findings from the data analysis with the help of focus groups and questionnaire. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations. The section integrates the concepts of theories discussed in the literature review earlier and incorporates them with the data analysis and findings. The section concludes the research by providing justifications for proving or disapproving hypotheses. Recommendations are made and can be utilised by retailers and consumers for further studies. Chapter 6: Self Reflection on Own Learning and Performance. The section describes the researchers learning process and performance over the course of the International MBA programme. This section also describes the researchers development of various skills during the course. Chapter 7: Bibliography The section provides the list of various books, academic journals and websites that have been used in the dissertation. Harvard referencing system is used to reference the sources used. Chapter 8: Appendices Appendix includes the final questionnaire and project management Gantt chart. Major contributions of the study: Scope and Limitations of the research: The main limitation of this study is faced during the primary research. The sample size taken for this study is a small population and of consumers of Tesco, Parnell Street. The results and conclusions are based on a single store and cannot be used for generalisation. Another issue that the researcher faced while conducting the primary research is the biasing problem. The researcher has remained neutral to his best of the ability while conducting the focus group interviews and questionnaires. The study being cross sectional is only relevant for a particular period of the present research. Any future changes in consumers attitudes can alter the results of present research.

What Women Most Desire Essay -- Essays Papers

What Women Most Desire In "The Wife Of Bath’s Tale", women most desire sovereignty over men in relationships. In other words, the power to have dominance over men is the one thing women most desire. I agree with the ideas that in relationship women wish to be dominant over the opposite sex. The only way such power is earned or give is when the man is in a situation where the woman must bail him out of trouble. Women have the ability to get what they want, when they want it. Chaucer portrays the Wife of bath as the dominant person in her marriages. She looks at men as her trinkets to be used and played with. She moves from one man to another, always looking for more. The Wife of Bath is a control freak, wanting to have sex when she desires it and with whom she desires. Her tale discusses a knight desperate for an to the question, what do women most desire? The answer is in the hands of an old lady who is described as an ugly, horrid fowl creature. In return for the answer the decrepit woman wants the knight to marry her. The knight has no choice and marries the hag. The knight was truly the one with no power and the hag was holding all the cards. The knight is in a lose-lose situation without the answer he was to be beheaded. The knight repulsed and angry married the hag. He was probably thinking that death by decapitation might have been the better than to live with the same old, ugly woman for the rest of his god-forsaken life. The knight in the tale had no choice but to submit to the sovereignty of the old hag. If the knight was a little smarter and did his homework in trying to say, "Hey, how does this old hag know the answer to what women most desire? She’s probably never been with a man before!" The knight was ... ...sed on the information given in the tale, I feel that women don’t desire to have power over their husbands. However, I do feel that women desire to have power, just not total power over their husbands like the Wife feels. I feel that women like to have an equal balance of power with men. I do not think that the Wife sees this as being possible. She seems to be so angry at men, because of the bad experiences that she has with her five husbands, and she doesn’t seem to want to change her belief in the fact that women have so much power. She actually demonstrates the power that women have towards her five husbands. She always seemed to get her way with them. Sadly, in today’s society, women are still not given the proper credit they deserve. It is shameful that women don’t receive equal representation in many situations. This is a topic that is still debated to this day.

Statistics in Business

Statistics is a way of gathering, analyzing, interpreting and presenting data so that it becomes more meaningful. It helps convert raw data into useful information. Statistics is therefore a collection of information. Statistics can be presented in graphical form to make it more appealing and easily understandable by the users. Statistics can be descriptive or inferential. Descriptive statistics have to do with methods in a data set that utilizes numerical and graphical to look for patterns to summarize the information revealed in a data set, and to present the information in a convenient form. The four elements of descriptive statistical problems are the population or sample of interest, one or more variables (characteristics of the populations or sample units) that are to be investigated, Tables, graphs, numerical summary tools, and the identification of patterns in the data. Also there are Inferential statistics that utilizes sample data to make estimates, decisions, predictions, or other generalizations about a larger set of data. There are 5 elements of inferential statistical problems: The population of interest, one or more variables (characteristics of the population units) that are to be investigated, the sample of population units, the inference about the population based on information contained in the sample, and a measure of reliability for the inference. When it comes to the role of statistics in business decision making it is applied in many ways in terms of consumer preferences or even financial trends. For example, managers across any type of business unit formulate problems, they decide on a question relating to the problem and then form a statistical formulation of the question is used to determine answers to all of the above. An example of a business question may be how many calls are answered on average in a call center and how can we increase the numbers of calls answered per hour. Another example may be how we can increase the number of accounts.

Retail Marketing Revolution

THE RETAIL MARKETING REVOLUTION By 2010, the list of India's top 10 retailers will have at least 5 Indian corporate. Retail Marketing will go through a tremendous change in India this millennium. It will change India's cities, its people, and its households. The Indian consumer is reportedly the largest spender in Singapore and London. It is, therefore, strange that there have, so far, been few efforts to present the product in the right kind of environment in India. Indeed, the right shopping experience does induce Indian consumers to spend more.This is evident from the experiences of retail-outlets like Shoppers' Stop, Music World, Food World, Crosswords, The Home Store, Ebony, Bigjo’s, Saboos, Standard, Vijay Store and Janaki Das & Sons, Westside etc. However, the development of organized retail is dependent on the efforts of several agencies and institutions. The first among these is the government. In a country as big as India and with as many states as ours, it is impera tive that the Central government and all state governments bring in Value Added Taxation or a unified taxation system to ensure that the tax-regimes are the same across the country.The laws governing retail real estate should also be looked into, so that it is possible to develop retail-estate beyond the city-limits. Apart from providing entertainment and retail opportunities, this will also decongest the city center and facilitate the development of suburbs. The relevant rules should also be amended to allow retail-stores to operate 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. Given the hours most urban consumers keep at work, and keeping in mind the increase in the number of nuclear families, this may, indeed, make sense. This will also help people enjoy their evenings, out at malls.The second group, whose participation is essential in making retail a boom-sector in this millennium, comprises developers. Most properties are developed without considering the end user; thus, we sometimes find hig h-ceilinged offices and low-ceilinged retail stores. Often, the shopper's convenience is not taken into consideration while the property is constructed. Another area of concern is the way in which developers sell their space. The only consideration is the price, not the usage pattern or the nature of the product that is to be sold.In contrast, internationally, mall-management is treated as a specialized discipline of retail management. This is what we have to focus on in this millennium. The third constituency that has a role to play in the fortunes of organized retail this century is the education-sector. Retail is a people-intensive business, and there is a huge opportunity for retail institutes in India. For manufacturers, retailing will present an attractive opportunity. Organized retail allows them to expose their products to a large volume of customers in an environment conducive to buying.Already, several transnational retail giants have established their presence in India; o thers, notably Chinese retailers, have visited India and studied the Indian market. There's a lot at stake here: even so early in the 21st Century, India is too large a market to be ignored by transnational retail giants. From the manufacturing company's perspective, the focus should be on producing good products, and forging relationships with organized retail. Manufacturers need to draw a plan of producing quality products and tie in with retailers.Indeed, the birth of organized retail will also engender the creation of private labels and store-brands. Thus, if a manufacturing company lacks the resources to build a brand, it can supply to a retail-chain that has the resources to create a brand of its own. A glimpse of the last 2 decades of the previous century proves illuminating. Large-format retailing started with outlets like Vivek's and Nalli's in Chennai and Kidskemp in Bangalore, and, at another level, with manufacturer-retail brands like Bata, Bombay Dyeing, and Titan.The l ast decade of the millennium witnessed the emergence of lifestyle brands and the plastic culture. Liberalization and increasing awareness of the world around us created the Indian yuppie, who aspired to own everything we saw on TV, or in shops during jaunts abroad. New lifestyle brands offered traditional retail-outlets an opportunity to convert themselves into exclusive stores, franchised or otherwise. And even as these developments were taking place, the Indian consumer became more mature.Customer-expectations zoomed Thus, at the beginning of the New Millennium, retailers have to deal with a customer who is extremely demanding. Not just in terms of the product-quality, but also in terms of service, and the entire shopping experience. Today, the typical customer who shops in a retail outlet compares the time spent at the check-out counter with that at an efficient petrol station, and the smile of the counter-person to that decorating the face of a Jet Airways' crew member.To cope w ith the new customer, manufacturers have to focus on product quality and brand building. And retailers, in turn, have to focus on the quality of the shopping experience. Internationally, retailing is a large business; you find at least one retailer amongst the top 10 companies in every country. In the US, it is Wal-Mart with a turnover in excess of $ 120 billion. In the UK, it is Marks and Spencer's with close to ? 10 billion; and, in Germany, it is Karstadt with a turnover in excess of dm 10 billion.