A Destination Management Report On Singapore Tourism Essay Essay Example

A Destination Management Report On Singapore Tourism Essay Essay Example A Destination Management Report On Singapore Tourism Essay Essay A Destination Management Report On Singapore Tourism Essay Essay Travel and touristry attending has the heading upon all sides in many states particularly due to the capableness to emanate over-abundance for the economic system. The industry is counted as the individual of the many critical setup of income every bit good as foreign exchange. Travel every bit good as Tourism commercial operation particularly emphasizes to magnetise the aliens. There have been infinite illustrations of touristry finishs around the existence that have been adversely impacted upon by touristry development. Tourism preparation formed upon the doctrines of sustainability has emerged as the individual of the many extended every bit good as supposed attacks. However, the tolerable proceed to tourism preparation flexible joints upon double base on balls cautions foremost an drawn-out bend of assorted stakeholder visual aspect in the touristry preparation modus operandi is mandatory every bit good as secondly, the demand for the critical class towards touristry preparation ( Simpson, 2001 ) . While Ritchie and Crouch ( 2000 ) explain that more finishs have been taking advantage of critical positions towards touristry development, Simpson ( 2001: 4 ) finds that although the constructs of stakeholder visual aspect every bit good as critical class have been at big permitted as profitable subscribers to tolerable development, there have been no anterior efforts to subscribe the boundary line to that such considerations play their function in echt cosmopolitan touristry preparation processes. The foremost impending of this investigate is rather straightforward, to coop down the touristry planning and policy of the tourer finish. The literature is chiefly focused on stigmatization, fiscal and merchandise development policies of the selected finish. Finish can be fundamentally described as a topographic point in which touristry is relatively dominant concern and the chief economic activity that contributes to the local and national authoritiess. The construct of finish direction as a affair of fact is hence a complex one since a peculiar topographic point regarded as a finish may be covering a broad country like a city, a part, a whole province or sometimes an full state for illustration the Caribbean Island. Ritchi A ; Crouch ( 2003 ) indicated that running and administrating topographic points frequented by tourers is a critical constituent of being in charge of the effects and amendss brought approximately by touristry. For illustration in tourer finishs like sub- Saharan Africa where game observation is the outstanding tourer attractive force, disposal of such topographic points is of kernel in order to retain the natural environment where game animate beings live and to deter unsustainable human activities every bit much as possible. Destination direction is composed of adjudication and allotment of available infinite, publishing trading licences for circuit operators and hotel proprietors, developing and implementing operational policies, safeguarding the Parks or the museums, outlining authorities and local support plans and set abouting related relevant activities or intercessions that will assist in progressing advancements and twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours running of visitants finishs and associated events. Roland A ; Buck ( 2008 ) Indicated that the presence of power and authorization over these topographic points as may be represented by the county councils or national authoritiess, non for net income organic structures, particular involvement groups, the experts and bookmans on environment and the place concern council signifier what is known to be destination direction society. A group composed of tourer operators, logistic houses, Lodge and bistros, sites, game Parkss, museums and others form a bulk part that makes a finish. Another issue that should be taken into history is the agencies through which the selling would be done. Most finishs use the cyberspace and telecasting. The publicities about the Forth coming universe cup in South Africa may be a good instance survey. It must be noted that direction of a individual finish is different from another s because the demands, size and the location of the country it covers and the figure of interested parties may differ. Selling is a commercialism term which refers to actions taken by a concern in order to fulfill its clients on a continued footing and accomplishing the gross revenues projections it set out. Selling is a calculated measure of actions that are taken by concerns which sell its goods and services in a market where rivals are many. Customers would ever desire to take the best trade goods of those available in the market. To make purchase over the rivals and to pull every bit good keep a desirable market portion, houses must incorporate selling into their operations. Finish selling can hence be defined as a witting attempt by touristry direction establishments to sell a certain tourer attractive force topographic point or activities to prospective tourers, to run into their gross revenues projections and keep a ample per centum of market portion compared to other finishs. Several factors are considered when marketing a finish. For illustration, the mark tourers must be identified, their demands taken into history, the rivals must be known, finding the fees and monetary values paid and so on. Pike ( 2004 ) indicated that several involvement groups every bit good as authoritiess, who depend on a given finish, are necessary for them to come together for the intent of marketing it. They could accomplish this by holding on standardising the services they offer, lending money for joint advertizements and bettering the touristry installations in and around the finish. However there is a concern by perceivers that these several parties have divergent involvement in the sense that they collude to market the finish they operate from while besides viing amongst themselves. A point that should be taken into history is that concerns in a tourer finish are the major subscribers to marketing attempts while the governments are concerned about pull offing the finishs. Finish planning can be defined as premeditated attempts by touristry concerns and governments to set up and fix a tourer attractive force topographic point or activities with the purpose of recognizing order and harmoniousness in their operations. Harmonizing to Clare A ; Turgut ( 2006 ) without a program, there would be apparent disorganisation with respect to service bringing. It obviously acknowledged all over the universe that it is necessary to use the usage of better options in puting up every bit good as bettering the tourer attractive force topographic points. This takes two dimensions. One is of offering the tourers an first-class value for money in the services provided. The 2nd dimension takes into history the effects of human activity on the environment. It besides involves the development and betterment of communicating and conveyance webs around and within the finish together with linking this concern to supplementary cost effectual industries. Furthermore, there is an facet of working with and incorporating the neighboring group of occupants. This is because the finish might be their hereditary land and of economic value by virtuousness of them working and populating at that place. Adequate planning besides checks unrestrained or illegal touristry. Singapore as a tourer finish Singapore is an international tourer finish with first-class BASIC and general substructure, a great scope of activities, events and amusement. It is regarded as a finish of household oriented, safe, modern, shopping Eden, plentifulness of Sun and good nutrient. It besides features one of the most efficient airdromes in the universe and a national air hose with strong repute for dependability and service ( Wan T.W.D. A ; Hui T.K. 2003 ) . Singapore has a great potency to pull tourer, as it is a way station for many other states and considered as a tourer hub. The state has been ranked 5th in planetary fight in 2009 by universe economic forum, which reveals its direction and selling efficiency. Even though the state does nt hold an sole ministry for touristry, the political will and back up for touristry industry is great. Singapore experienced visitor reachings of 10.1 million and touristry grosss of 15.2 billion in 2008 and the authorities is aiming ternary touristry grosss by 2015. Singapore touristry board Singapore touristry board is the supreme finish direction administration ( DMO ) for touristry in Singapore which have four divisions viz. touristry selling, corporate services, touristry concern and regional selling, under ministry of industry and trade. Apart from touristry publicity, STB besides performs the function of economic development for touristry industry. The mission of STB is to guarantee the place of touristry as a cardinal economic pillar of the state through good thought out scheme in coaction with public and private sector stakeholders. STB besides strives for exciting and advanced experience for the visitants in close partnership with little and average endeavors. The cardinal focal point countries of STB are heightening place of Singapore as a taking convention and exhibition metropolis in Asia , developing the state as a taking Asiatic leisure finish and set uping Singapore as service Centre of Asia . Harmonizing to the Singapore tourism board act, the maps of the direction include: Promotion and development of Singapore as a tourer finish Advice the authorities on affairs sing touristry Maximize the part of touristry sector to the national economic system. Regulation maps of touristry endeavors Develop new touristry merchandises Develop finish selling runs Encourage investings in touristry substructure Tourism policies DMO of Singapore is good cognizant of the entire system definition of the state as a tourer finish since its independency, which is apparent from good defined, efficient and dynamic touristry policies. The direction of touristry in Singapore has undergone assorted alterations over decennaries and the current touristry schemes are based on three focal points ; promoting its place as taking exhibition and convention metropolis in Asia with strong and dynamic concern environment, taking Asiatic leisure finish, and the service Centre of Asia. The encompassing cause of opposite policies every bit good as schemes directed during compelling and defending touristry in Singapore has been theme to socio mercantile alterations upon an internal every bit good as telluric foreparts. A deeper deal of issues sing touristry growing in Singapore necessitates an scrutiny of a behind combatant of these hurdlings as they describe to sold amicable mercantile every bit good as domestic conditions of Sing apore. Singapore touristry board has sought to be variable to alterations in a wider socio mercantile environment. Tourism policies every bit good as schemes have to exemplify largely corresponded to telluric forces transition tendencies in touristry every bit good as mercantile growing and responded to internal factors such as going different amicable conditions in a metropolis province. Branding A ; selling scheme The dramatic betterment in Singapore s engineering has lead to a displacement in its trade name scheme where it was ab initio known as instant Asia since its independency in 1965. After a period of clip, Singapore touristry board has deployed the trade name Uniquely Singapore ( authorities of Singapore 2006 ) to showcase the individuality of the state, which has now evolved as yoursingapore . Different ministries and statutory organic structures of Singapore are marketing the state with different trade names utilizing different images. For this ground, Singapore has an umbrella placement exercising in topographic point to organize the attempts of different bureaus and statutory organic structures. STB has derived good thought out schemes to pass on the trade name image to all domestic and abroad stakeholders and of class the possible travelers. Singapore has recognised the possible value of the trade names and has good addressed the affair by using professional selling methods and schemes. It besides realises the potency of mega events in advancing the trade name and is making the best to pull such events to the state in concurrence with the authorities ( for illustration, formulae one race and young person Olympics ) . Enterprises have besides been taken to hike up the trade name image through media and engineering which could convey about a great positive impact to the state s repute. STB communicates the trade name yoursingapore through its 18 abroad offices and assorted media like advertisement, picture taking, booklets, on-line enterprises and besides the movie industry ( movie in Singapore strategy ) . The website www.yoursingapore.com delivers a new experience that no other touristry finishs are presently offering. STB gives equal importance to trade name consciousness by travelers every bit good as occupants and several enterprises has been taken in macro and micro degree to turn to this. It besides claims that the trade name is globally good known which is evident from consciousness and callback among the mark markets. A few studies have ranked Singapore s trade name among the top in footings of all bulginess, consistence, economic environment and domination. STB is besides endeavoring to tie in the trade name with positive facets like topographic point of chance, creativeness, research and development. Since the size of the state is smaller, it s relatively easy for STB to stand for the state in a holistic manner without a quandary of which one to concentrate on. Singapore sees branding as a platform for selling, advertisement and public dealingss attempts of the state. Gaining the fact that Singapore is already advanced in landscape and engineering, the selling focal point has shifted from difficult facets to soft facets like life style, visitant experience and advanced touristry merchandises and services. This is apparent from a figure of new touristry developmental schemes implemented to accomplish the vision of touristry sector to be a prima economic development bureau in touristry, known for partnership, invention and excellence . The above said schemes include publicity and encouragement of diverseness, experimentation, invention, high degree of client service, IT oriented concern frame, strategic confederation and so on which underpins the finish vision. The state is good turn toing the issue of transforming the old mentality of international audience and market the current world as a dynamic and culturally vibrant metropolis. Singapore is besides an illustration of glocalisation ( Foley M. et.al 2006 ) by progressively distinguishing visitants, by invention of consumer traditions in footings of selling. Merchandise / Facility development scheme With the image of a high tech metropolis, touristry merchandises and services of Singapore has ever been go arounding around engineering, irrespective of the fact that the acceptance of engineering in touristry sector is relatively low. The merchandise and service development in touristry, cordial reception and retail sector is being differentiated with the 10 twelvemonth maestro program of engineering viz. intelligent state 2015 ( iN2015 ) . iN2015 is a maestro scheme to maximize the usage of engineering in all economic sectors including touristry across Singapore. iWealth is another direction policy under iN2015, seeks to beef up Singapore as a wealth direction Centre. It besides promote investings and merchandise development to enable better hazard direction and timely market of advanced merchandises and services. With a clear matter-of-fact vision of touristry and cordial reception industry, the schemes are concentrated on three chief countries. In the first scheme, the mentality has gone beyond visitant experience to superior visitant experience with seamless and individualized service. The two programmes under this scheme are digital concierge and speedy enrollment for visitants. The 2nd scheme focuses on bettering industry efficiency by following more engineering and supply concatenation integrating, where as the 3rd policy ponder on development of new thoughts using engineering in the touristry industry. The support for inciting engineering in touristry is good taken attention by the authorities with a strategy called touristry engineering fund of S $ 10 million, which is a accelerator for iN2015 to transform the touristry industry and prolong long term. In add-on, STB is besides looking frontward for immense undertakings like universe s best shopping composite in grove route and iconic r esorts to better touristry attractive forces. Fiscal policy The touristry industry in Singapore has got a great degree of political will and back up which accordingly lead to sound economic policies for developing and prolonging touristry growing. Tourism industry in Singapore is funded 100 % through STB, by the authorities, from hotel room dark revenue enhancements, ( SRI international 1999 ) which is 4.6 % of the entire authorities outgo. Apart from this STB besides receives financess from private sector for joint ventures. STB is a spearhead for touristry development in close coaction with public and private sectors to accommodate a comprehensive and holistic attack to construct a strong economic policy to deduce greater economic growing. The abolishment of its long standing prohibition of chancing and casinos by the authorities resulted in immense addition in visitant reachings and later larger economic growing. As such, liberalization and long-short term inducements in the conveyance industry have lead Singapore to emerge as a Marine and air power hub in Asia. STB in association with the authorities has come up with assorted economic policies to help countries like investing publicity, merchandise and industry development, fiscal grants and revenue enhancement inducements to foster develop Singapore as a tourer finish and prolong the economic growing. The economic policies are as follows ; Tourism development aid strategy ( TDAS ) to speed up the gait of touristry development in Singapore. Double revenue enhancement tax write-off for inward touristry publicity and local trade exhibitions to promote private sector to market Singapore in local and abroad trade carnivals and exhibitions. Investing allowance strategy for flagship constructs to advance investings in little and average endeavors and amusement. Concessionary revenue enhancement rate for mega events to pull event organizers to present Singapore for mega events. Film in Singapore strategy ( FSS ) to promote and pull movie shapers to hit in Singapore ( See the positive image created for Newzealand through the movie Godhead of the rings ) . Be in Singapore inducement strategy to advance and spread out concern events in Singapore. Appraisal of schemes Branding A ; positioning The stigmatization scheme of Singapore mostly influences the manner they want their mark market and the touristry industry as a whole to see the state in footings of tourer attractive forces merely as the manner it should be harmonizing to Ritchie and Crouch ( 2003 ) . YourSingapore differentiates Singapore s deserving stamp from which of rivals ; guaranting Singapore corsets applicable every bit good as constrained to today s travelers, as codification equity every bit good as codification recall impact visitant reachings every bit good as touristry grosss. YourSingapore is an advanced judgement which focuses upon personalisation every bit good as an aberrance of Singapore and knowledge to any visitant. It uses a smart platform, www.yoursingapore.com, to merely capacitate travelers to restitute their preferable Singapore experience into world. Yoursingapore s digital attack in branding/positioning, blogging, societal media monitoring, and travel e-commerce can sharply heighten pre-e xperience choice, such as designation, distinction, expectancy, outlook and rhenium confidence, while assuring truth in the advertisement policy as Crouch and Ritchie recommends. Consolidation and support of station -experience remembrance is besides successfully accomplished by the trade name image of Singapore with its efficient communicating web. The thought of trade name umbrella besides helps STB to consolidate the attempts of different bureaus in Singapore to market it and at the same clip coordinating and heightening the position of the whole community. While the trade name images place the finish among the mark markets, the policy of altering the trade name names by Singapore from instant Asia to Uniquely Singapore and further to yoursingapore is to be scanned for what impacts it brings about in the head of tourers around the Earth. STB s Assistant main executive of marketing Ken Low justifies the policy that a trade name s life span is non more than seven old ages. But it should be considered that many other trade name runs have been in action for decennaries and still efficient. Merchandise / Facility development This phase of be aftering stage of Singapore could be considered as efficient and effectual as they are good directed towards two subjects out of three, prescribed by Crouch A ; Ritchie such as installation planning for competent finish, new and advanced event development for touristry attractive forces sweetening. However, schemes for spread outing and beef uping STB through ranks are non noticeable in the touristry policy context of Singapore. It can be seen that the nature of Singapore touristry policies is regulating the touristry sector entirely by public sector with limited private sector engagement, which is so competent. iN2015 would be a great advantage for touristry merchandises and service development in Singapore sing the current unprofessional operations in a major portion of nutrient and retail sector which frequently consequences in making unsought visitant readings. The undertaking is expected to supply the single tourers with satisfying and disputing experiences to a great extend. Financial resource scheme The rapid growing of industries reveals the efficiency of economic policies of Singapore of all time since it is independent and when it comes to the new epoch policies for touristry economic system, the changeless addition in touristry grosss which reached S $ 15 billion in 2008 divulges its effectivity. As recommended by Ritchie and crouch ( 2003 ) and Tourism Working Group, aggressive schemes are developed to pull planetary participants for investing publicity, therefore raising more capital through revenue enhancements from private sector for touristry growing. Investment allowance strategy, BE in Singapore strategy, and concessionary revenue enhancement rates along with free trade policy are a few illustrations of these policies. These are cardinal fiscal policies to increase revenue enhancement returns with other supplementing schemes, sing that touristry industry in Singapore is 100 % funded by the authorities through revenue enhancements from the touristry concern itself. The re are no seeable policies of raising debt and equity capital or direct support from private sector which is non much necessary for Singapore with greater concern investings from foreign and private sector. Apart from public support, STB besides aims to promote investings from private sector for substructure development and joint touristry promotional runs. In contrast, Singapore has a mix of good defined public and private sector support policies, which is an ideal theoretical account of fiscal resource policy. The cost effectivity of policies like revenue enhancement tax write-off and non revenue enhancement inducements on offer is, nevertheless, unfastened to inquiry. Decision From the analysis and appraisal, it is apparent that Singapore has a proactive attack which tries to accomplish a vibrant touristry finish through forward planning, timely intercessions, policy and infrastructural development. Whereas, the positive results of finish development may be attributed to integrating, flexibleness and strong aspiration of the policy and scheme. The engagement of the authorities in touristry has been positive and likely to be continued so. Most policies of STB and authorities seem to function the touristry practicians better, instead than policy shapers. This is a cardinal constituent of policies in order to promote practicians to implement theoretical policies into pattern. Success of Singapore as a sustainable and competent touristry finish depends largely upon the effectivity and efficiency of policy and planning, every bit far as Singapore touristry board is examined. The balanced trade name scheme of Singapore places itself in its niche markets, whereas, selling, merchandise development and fiscal policies acts as a accelerator to hike up touristry grosss at the same clip, sustainably viing in the international touristry market.

Social Media Network Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Social Media Network Technology - Essay Example As the paper discusses  the positive impacts of social media network technology in education are intense. Use of the technology as the teaching technique enables teachers to increase students’ participation in their education. Advancement in technological proficiency enhances collaboration among students in the classroom. Additionally, network technology enhances the development of students’ communication skills. Use of social media program also enables students to complete extra assignments, and as a result, improve their performance significantly. Use of social media in classrooms increases student collaboration.This study highlights that use of social networking also improves communication among teachers, administrators, and students. â€Å"As an educational tool, social media enriches the learning experience by allowing students and teachers to connect and interact in new, exciting ways†. In support of this, it is evident that students who rarely participat e physically in class feel comfortable airing their views on social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. In other words, the platforms enable teachers to develop â€Å"back channels† that raise discussion as well as ideas that shy students find difficult to voice out. Use of social media can be distractive in the classroom. Tools such as Facebook and Twitter can divert students’ attention from classwork and the learning process. Thus, incorporation of social media into classroom will make students go off.

Personal Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Ethics - Essay Example If I live by rules that are stemmed from the ill effects of society, then I will end up being depressed and discouraged. Free will basically trusts one’s instincts. It is being able to live well, to do things my own way and to live slowly but surely. My thought patterns are shaped by the way I see things. If I see things in a different light, if I see the two sides of a coin and if I choose to see what I want to see in my own perspective, then this is what I call free will. Ethics is governed by the rightness and wrongness of actions. What is then the definition of right and wrong? Can these be equated with obligation and duty? Take the context of the family. I know for a fact that the family is the basic unit of the society. Is the husband obliged to take care of his wife or vice versa? Are parents obligated to take care of their children? When the elderly in the family starts to suffer from dementia, are the concerned family members obliged to take good care of him or her? These are the questions that will help us define the morals and principles that have shaped the society. I treat Kantian ethics as a foundation of the difference between right or wrong, between good and bad. Immanuel Kant argues that to act in the morally right way, people must act according to duty. But then is duty synonymous to responsibility? How does duty become a sense of accountability? Take for example the situation in the community. The rules that the society dictates can sometimes be so distracting but if I would consider that rules are meant to be followed and not meant to be broken, then everything in the community will be in order. The very simple sign, â€Å"No smoking† at the gasoline station is meant to be abided.... In this case, is this really my duty not to smoke Or is it simply following the rules and being aware of the consequences if I smoke at the gasoline station How can I say that it is a matter of common sense How does comprehension differ from awareness How does common sense differ from morally dictated laws If I do something, should I think the welfare of others Take for example a friend of mine needs a job. Let us name my friend Elle. Elle has been looking for a job for the past six months. Now an opportunity for her to work part time has landed on her lap. Her duty is to fill in the position of a nurse in a nursing home for only three days. Now as she started working, she does not want to let go of the opportunity. What she did was to convince the nursing home administrator to hire her full time instead of the 2 Nurse whom she has temporarily replaced for three days. Elle was able to convince the nursing home administrator to hire her full time at the expense of the nurse who only took her days off. Who is now at fault here Is it that of the nursing home administrator or is it that of scheming Elle who thought of her own self interest rather than the nurse who has worked in the nursing home for years When the nurse returned, she does not have a job anymore. On Elle's part, she would rather think of her own survival rather than the welfare of the nurse whom she has replaced. In this situation, the context of good and bad is really out of the maxim of the rules of good and evil. Take for example the context of suicide. Japan is considered the country with the highest suicide rate. In Japan, suicide is common but in the milieu of Christianity, suicide is not advisable. In this framework,

A Strategic Analysis Of J Sainsbury Marketing Essay

A Strategic Analysis Of J Sainsbury Marketing Essay J Sainsbury plc  consists of Sainsburys a chain of 509 supermarkets and 276 convenience stores, Sainsburys online, Sainsburys property and Sainsburys Bank. Sainsburys Supermarkets is the UKs longest standing major food retailing chain, which opened its first store in 1869. The Sainsburys brand is built upon a heritage of providing customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. Today it differentiates itself by offering a broad range of great quality products at fair prices with particular emphasis on fresh food, a strong ethical approach to business and continuous leadership and innovation. At Sainsburys products are improved and developed to ensure the company leads in terms of the ingredients used and integrity of sourcing. Sainsburys goal  is to improve quality shopping experience for customers with great products at fair prices. Their aim is to exceed customer expectations for healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food, making the customers lives easier every day. Sainsburys brand Values-passion for healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food, their focus is on delivering great products at fair prices, they have a history of innovation and leadership and a strong regard for the social, ethical and environmental effects of their operation, and this has continued to stand the test of time. Sainsburys five principles are at the core of their business:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The best for food and health  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sourcing with integrity  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Respect for our environment  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Making a positive difference to our community  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A great place to work. And at Sainsburys they believe that these principles provide differentiation from their major competitors and define and direct all their activities. Sainsburys business priorities are:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Great food at fair prices  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accelerating growth of complementary non-food ranges  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reaching more customers through additional channels  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Growing supermarket space  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Active property management The organisation that has been selected to examine and analyse is Sainsburys.  Ã‚   Sainsburys has started its journey in 1869 and since then it has gradually established itself as the third largest supermarket chain in UK. Over the past few years its parent company   J Sainsbury plc   has prolonged its business and now owns a whole range of other companies like Sainsburys Supermarkets, Sainsburys Local, Bells Stores, Jacksons Stores and JB Beaumont, Sainsburys Online and Sainsburys Bank. The increasing figures of Sainsburys  Ã‚   global sales and purchasing operations contributes to a significant rise in the business competence and productivity. However, this report will be examining Sainsburys position in the retail industry, explaining the role of interaction within the macro and micro environment, drawing up a detailed competitive advantage of the organisation and the strategies that influence the business policies to survive in the competitive market. Analysis of Financial data Gross Profit Margin (GPM)- Due to the intense competition in the supermarket industry margins are generally low. See the following table for comparators which shows relatively poor margins for Sainsbury even compared to other retailers ; Company Industry ROA Profit Margin Marks Spencer Retailer and Financial Services 4.43% 3.91% J Sainsbury Retailer and Financial Services 5.60% 3.61% Thorntons Retailer of Chocolates etc 8.43% 6.45% Next Retailer of Clothing 26.14% 13.82% Dixons Group Retailer of Electronic etc Goods 19.78% 14.41% Yates Group Retailer of Food 9.13% 13.34% Safeway Retailer of Food 7.24% 4.14% Morrisons Retailer of Food 12.93% 5.87% Tesco Retailer of Food and Household Goods 9.99% 5.72% Strategic analysis of Sainsbury PLC using Porters 5-Force Model SWOT Analysis A  SWOT Analysis  is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,  and  Threats  of an organization. With the help of this SWOT analysis we will be able to find out the positives and negatives of Sainsburys. Strengths: Sainsburys has had thirteen straight quarters of growth showing real turnaround in its business. Even for 2007 it has shown an increase of 7% in turnover and a huge 450% increase in profit after tax (Annual Report 2007).It has an extremely experienced leadership team. Sainsburys seems to be very well placed on green and environmental issues due to its various recent initiatives, like buying fair-trade bananas (economist.com 2008 [online]). Furthermore its help in closing down gang master has had a positive effect on the public in general. It has a positive consumer brand and its liked by both green activists and consumers. It is one supermarket chain that has a clear celebrity endorsing products, leading to increased sales. With Jamie Oliver, it has been simple for Sainsburys to see uplifts in sales of specific ingredients that have been featured in ad campaigns. The supermarket had to order nine tons the equivalent of two years supply of nutmeg to meet demand when it appeared in one of Jamie Olivers ads. Weakness: The takeover bid by the Qataris Private equity firm last year can have some implications as people are gravitating towards British companies and the prospect of Sainsburys being governed by a foreign firm can lead to consumers switching loyalties. Unlike Tescos expansion plan (economist.com [online] 2008), Sainsburys is not present in markets other than the UK. This can lead to trouble especially if there is some problem within food retailing in the UK or if there needs to be a source of extra growth. Opportunities: Sainsburys alternative business presents a great opportunity for future growth. Its investments in property and a goal of  £40 million profit through its bank seem like a good strategy to pursue. Online sales are a great opportunity as well, since online margins are higher and investments are not huge. Threats: There needs to be continuous heavy investment in environmental and green issues without immediate benefits. The problem lies in maintaining a balance e.g. Bio-fuel is an important tool to curb global emissions and its use affects Sainsburys supply chain directly, so Sainsburys should support it. However, a spurt in bio-fuels has made corn dearer (independent.co.uk [online] 2008) affecting its prices within the UK and making Sainsburys consumers bear the brunt. Sainsburys operations are subject to a broad spectrum of regulatory requirements particularly in relation to planning, competition and environmental issues, employment, pensions and tax laws and in terms of regulations over the groups products and services. This  concludes  that with the help of this SWOT analysis Sainsbury would now know where they stand. This will also allow them work on their opportunities, weaknesses and threats and build up on their strengths giving them a cutting edge. Macro-Environment: At this present phenomenon the nature of the retail industry is changing its image dramatically and the importance to survive with the competitors and remain as a leading company in the market has reached its highest peak. However, there are some issues which may have some impacts on the business.    Political factors: At present the changing trend of globalised business could be a challenge as well as an opportunity for the Sainsburys because they would have to compete against new forces from all over the world to maintain best quality of the products and services they offer. Customer may get a negative impression because of the investigation going on price fixing as Sainsburys is listed in the top four retailers in UK (Rigby 2008). The UK Government is to reduce corporation tax rates from 30% to 28%, which will help Sainsbury, to save large amount of money (HM Treasury 2008).    Economical factors: The rising food prices because of global food crisis may have impacts on the business of Sainsburys as it will definitely increase their purchasing and production cost (economist.com 2008). And eventually it will increase the overall price of the products in the super market     Supply chain of Sainsburys may get affected with the rising cost of fuel which may lead to an overall increase in prices.   The credit crunch will cut the purchasing power of the consumers as they would have less money to spend on luxury products. Therefore, automatically it is going to decrease profit margins for Sainsburys. On the other hand Sainsburys operates financial services company with HBOS (Annual Report 2007) and also a bank. However, both of are directed affected due to recession. As the competition in the market is really high other big competitors like ASDA ,TESCO ,MORRISON ,LIDL , ALDI are cutting down their product prices and giving lot of incentives to customer which may bound Sainsburys to drop their prices to survive in the market. (Annual Report 2008) SOCIAL FACTORS: Sainsburys may introduce new recipes to cook easy and healthy food because now a days consumers tend to eat fresh food and   seem to be more health conscious. According to the health department the obesity rate in UK is increasing (department of health 2008). And because of that reason the UK government has emphasised on healthy eating (eatwell.gov.uk 2008) which gives Sainsburys to an opportunity to manufacture more healthy foods at a cheaper price to match the ongoing trend. Technological: It is predicted that by 2011 the online retail sales in Europe will hit approximately 263 Billion Euro because of the rapid increase of internet shopping in which the shoppers in UK may accounting for more than a third of all revenue.   Sainsburys can take the advantage of utilizing internet as an advertising media as 8% of the global advertising is spent on the internet and the percentage is increasing day by day (The Economist, 2007).  It will be very cost effective and help the company to globalize very easily. Self checkout machines may increase customer loyalty as they dont have to wait in long queues sometimes for very few products. It saves their time and increase comfort while shopping. It can also be very cost effective as it will require less worker to work and can be in operated 24 hour shops which will boost up the sales figure. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) is a new technology yet to be popular but can play vital role in supply chain management fort the company. It can benefit big companies like Sainsburys to save their valuable time as it requires less inventory and offers more efficiency. (Directions magazine 2008) Environmental factors Environmental factors are one of the key issues these days.   Every company has to ensure that they contribute in reducing carbon footprint and to increase energy efficiency (Bream 2008) which means big companies like Sainsburys would have to invest more money to sort out Green issues. With the growing ethical issues such as selling organic foods and treating animals in a good way may have impacts on the business of Sainsburys because they would have to retain their customers   and   balance their pricing after   maintain all the environmental issues. Legal factors: Sainsburys would have to develop its packaging and labelling policies to meet all the implications of LAW on food and drinks. Which will add extra cost to their overall budget. As Sainsburys operate a bank and is involved with financial services they would have to be more concerned about the legal issues and risks involved with their business. Porters 5 Forces Competitive rivalry-The retail market is enormously competitive with a very crowded market. Now, as more and more companies are trying to get into non food sectors it further intensifies the competition. Sainsburys has a market share of 14.9% in 2007, steadily increasing since its restructuring programme that started in 2004 (Annual Report 2007). This is a positive trend but it lags well behind the runaway market leader Tesco, showing that there is considerable distance to cover. Tesco, Asda, and Morrisons are the other three big supermarket chains in the UK retail sector. All of them have a different competitive advantage over their competitors. Sainsburys reach in the convenience stores makes it have a larger customer reach. Banks and building societies compete with Sainsbury bank but it is not a core business for Sainsburys. Barriers for entry-Barriers to entry are extremely high in the food retail market due to a number of factors. Firstly, organised retail is amongst the most sophisticated sectors within the UK and needs a lot of investment, along with significant brand development, which takes years to establish. Secondly, retail is also at an advanced stage within the UK and most of the western world, which means there is little scope for new entrants to establish themselves. Local knowledge is extremely crucial within the food retail sector, something that is difficult for foreign firms to replicate. This is corroborated by the presence of few global supermarkets within UK. Threats of Substitutes-  The threat of substitutes in the food retail industry is a low one simply because consumers view it as a necessity, especially in the developed world and increasingly in the emerging markets. The retail market is always trying to converge and assimilate new innovations with respect to food products or alternative businesses, to make shopping an extremely pleasurable experience. This makes them extremely difficult to substitute. The only major threat of substitute is an internal industry threat whereby one supermarket can lap up the business of other supermarkets. Buyer power-  Buyer power is high in this industry simply due to the presence of so many competitors selling the same products. It is only differentiated in price and consumer loyalty and increasingly on green credentials. Moreover, the switching costs are low for consumers. As the economy goes further towards recession consumers needs are likely to be given more weight, increasing their power considerably. Supplier power-  Supplier power is usually more complicated as it is difficult to categorise it. It is safe to call it a mutually dependent relationship as suppliers are in itself huge companies, like PG, Unilever, Cadbury etc. with huge brand appeal. It can be argued that if supermarkets do not sell their products consumers will shift loyalties, making suppliers very powerful. However, if the products of big companies do not reach supermarkets, their sales volumes will be affected hugely. The relationship might change depending on the situation of the big branded supplier, for example, when sales of Cadburys dairy milk increased through the successful Gorilla ad campaign. Supplier power of smaller suppliers will not be considerable because of their sales volumes on dependence on these supermarkets. Competitive advantage: Sainsburys has got some competitive advantage which made its business so successful all over UK and established the 3rd  food retail chain in United Kingdom. The competitive advantages are discussed below: Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  16 million customers visiting every week Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  More concerned with the environmental issues such as green house effect , reducing fuel emission , providing 15 million reusable bags , 8 million car stickers and fridge magnets to remind and encourage people to use environmental friendly resources. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Performing social responsibility while working with Comic Relief to raise money and help poor neighbourhood. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  22% market share makes them one the power key player after Tesco in the British retail industry. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They have established a brand image and are considered to have the supermarket power which is Locations. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sainsburys marketing strategy is   to attract the middle class consumers   with an affordable cost   while maintaining   particularly   quality of the food they simultaneously. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They are promoting a new section name Active Kids to help school kids and teachers to overcall child obesity.http://www.bitc.org.uk/resources/case_studies/afe_1343.html) Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sainsbury is the first super store to start One Hour Delivery slot outside of London. In addition if the y fail to do so on time customers will be paid  £10 next time they do online shopping.  (http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=19562hilite Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sainsburys bank loans ranked 13 out of 16 in the Ciao top list as The Best Loan Lenders   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.ciao.co.uk/Sainsburys_Bank_Loans__6914648) Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Developing customer service is a key advantage for Sainsbury. They discovered their highly skilled employees focus on their duties rather than Customers. So therefore , they changed the strategies and focused more to   improve customer service to get extra advantage. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The adoption of RFID has brought new competitive advantage as only few companies has the privilege to use this innovative technology. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Making Sainsburys store more accessible for its customer while keeping in mind about some facts such as geographical aspects, ever changing lifestyles, and   Government restrictions. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cutting cost , giving incentives and introducing constant innovative products is a core advantage over competitors. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sainsbury manufacturers their own products and has their own brands which helps them to produce products in a bulk quantity at a cheaper price. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The company has a unique core competency which is they promote value by providing good quality products at a competitive price. Æ’ËÅ"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vertical integration in between buyers and suppliers has managed to organise and run a healthy supply chain system for the company which may help them to expand their business in future. . Limitations inter-related with the PEST Analysis: In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the critical factors that might have affect on the business. A number methods of have been developed so far. PEST analysis happens to be one of the key tools to determine those factors in a various way. Kotler (1998) claims that PEST analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. The utilization of PEST analysis could be considered effective for the corporate benefit and strategic developments of the company. Although everything has its own Pros and Cons , PEST analysis as a tool is not unlikely to them. It can be said that Pest Analysis are sometimes done on simple assumptions which may not even exist in real. The reason behind may be the facts we take into account while doing a PEST for any company. It may not be considered on specific area or may be they less possibility to happen reality. It is also considered that PEST analysis doesnt really emphasise on critical factors and it one of the major lacking of this method is it only covers external issues without concerning the internal environment of the company and position of competitors in the industry. Another disadvantage for PEST would be it is not done on a regular basis as the rules and regulations, currency rate , variables , foreign investment and   economic figures etc .change quite often. Indeed to make it more realistic and practical it is important to gather information and obtain different perspectives based on individual point of view which is going to increase cost thus, results as a limitation for this vastly use d tool. The current position of the company in the market is quite strong though with the booming recession and business expansion of   other competitors may cause some difficulties in future.  Sainsburys being   one of the largest supermarket company in UK should set some standards to achieve outstanding performance as a overall company. Moreover,   Sainsbury should introduce some new business policies to expand its business outside of UK and explore the new markets like China, India , USA, Australia. Conclusion: From this investigation it can be seen through the various analyses methods used; Marketing Audit, Porters 5 Forces and SWOT, that Sainsburys is an iconic British food brand, well loved by its consumers and importantly profits, have improved tremendously. Although it has shown steady growth it is important for Sainsburys to go the next level by challenging Tesco, a competitor identified in the Porters 5 forces analysis, either by thinking of international expansion or on price. This in conjunction with its increasing property portfolio and alternate businesses should help in continuing the strong growth path, as well as tiding over threats (SWOT) in its external environment.

How Does the Individual Influence World Events Essay

â€Å"How does the individual influence world events?† Muhammad is the prophet of the Islam. Islam means submission to the will of Allah. Allah is the one and only Islamic God. He taught the Middle Eastern people that Allah was the only God and that all other gods must be abandoned. Muhammad was and still is a highly respected individual that created the largest religion the world has ever seen. The Muslim religion has over a billion and a half followers, which is 25 % of the world’s population. Muhammad claimed that he saw an angel while meditating at a cave. The angel told Muhammad that he was the messenger for God. From that day and on, Muhammad began to spread the word of Allah. He began to preach at Mecca in 610 but reached minimum success. In 622, a criticized Muhammad left Mecca for Yathrib. To all Muslims, this migration is known as the Hijrah. In Yathrib, Muhammad drew many followers and influenced many people. Yathrib was later named Medina meaning â€Å"the city of the prophet†. During this time, Muhammad became a military leader. In the year 630, Muhammad and 10,000 of his followers marched into Mecca and caused Mecca’s leaders to surrender. The prophet entered Mecca in triumph. Many Meccans pledged their loyalty to Muhammad and converted to Islam. â€Å"How does the individual influence world events?† Barack Obama is the president of the United States of America. Everything he does sets the mood for the entire world, so much that he is under tremendous pressure. This pressure includes living up to the change he promised the world, pleasing his people and fixing the U.S’s un-stable economy. No other political figure in today’s world may be as significant as President Obama. His decisions and actions affect both people in America and people across the world. For example Obama has sent 50 thousand troops to Afghanistan. This negatively affected his image due to the fact that he promised for change when this action shows no change between him and former president Bush. This also affected the Muslim view on Barack Obama because they thought that he would focus on peace more than war. Due to his race, the world has broken many racial barriers and racism is not as much a factor as was before. Barack Obama can be labeled as one of the most influential political leaders of all time, even though he has been in office for so little time. This is because of the racial barriers he has broken and the ideas and decisions he both promised and has fulfilled. â€Å"How does the individual influence world events?† The individual can influence today’s world in many ways. We can become more involved in the care of the environment by making small decisions that will not drastically change our lifestyles but can change the world. These changes include minimizing the time of showers, shutting off all lights when you are not using them, using renewable energy sources, switching to compact florescent light bulbs etc. The individual should educate themselves along with others on how becoming green is the way to go. China for example is making big changes when it comes to helping the environment. China has 50 % of all solar energy panels and is the number 1 producer of wind turbines.

Bias in Abstinence-Only Education Essay

In addition to being an ineffective deterrent to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, abstinence only education prevents young women from making well informed decisions about their sexuality.   Cases of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV infections is on the rise despite the government allocating funds for abstinence only programs.   This paper seeks to look at the government policies with regard to abstinence-only education programs and its relationship with unwanted pregnancies. It is a known fact that sexual abstinence is being practiced in all countries in the world as a sure way of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.   Men and women of all ages who are not ready to accept the risks that accompany sexual activity embrace abstinence which is a normal and acceptable practice.   As a way of expressing love, affection and tenderness, majority resort to intercourse and sexual activity. Sex is also being used by couples to strengthen their relationships.   However, it has often been argued that using sex to cement relationships can distort one’s judgment.   Among women, having sex may strengthen the feeling of love but do not actually cement or deepen the relationship. Exploring sexual behavior within an environment of deep commitment where having children is considered as a possibility is always rewarding.   Majority of people are however not prepared for commitment hence opt for abstinence until they develop a stable relationship. Abstinence is 100% effective in protecting an individual from sexually transmitted.   However, if the majority of the population could realize its effectiveness, then we would not be having such headlines like the ones we have seen in the past of teen births being on the rise.   However, abstinence is not an easy practice considering how strong sexual drives are among humans. The rate of teen births steadily declined since 1991 and this could have been because of the intensive educational campaigns that were initiated during that period.   These campaigns included encouraging people to use contraceptives and condoms and enlightening people on the risks of Aids and sexually transmitted diseases.   However, today statistics now show an increase by 3% in teen births the first time ever in 14 years. (Wilson, Kelly, Patricia,2005) Is it that the sex education programs that the government adopted are no longer working? The government has tried to show some effort in curbing STDs and unwanted pregnancies. The first federal abstinence-only program was enacted in 1981 and this was designed primarily to support pregnant and parenting teenagers.   This came through the adolescent Family Life Act which was also passed the same year. AFLA also funded â€Å"abstinence-only† programs meant to encourage responsibility and self discipline among teenagers (Abstinence Only Programs 2008, p.2). Abstinence-only program’s purpose was to teach the general population and especially the teenagers how they stand to gain from abstinence. It also sought to teach abstinence from pre-marital to all schooling children.   The abstinence-only program was supposed to teach the values of abstinence with regard to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.   According to this program, the expected standard of human sexual activity revolved around a mutually faithful monogamous relationship.   However, with all these well clarified goals, current scientific research shows that this program is ineffective. A study of ‘abstinence-only-until marriages’ program inferred that the classes fail to serve its goal of delaying the onset of sexual activity the young people.   An evaluation of 11 of these programs showed that they do not have a lasting positive effect on the asexual behavior of young people (Ibid 4).   Instead of a positive effect on the young people they showed a negative willingness to use contraceptive because the program emphasized on contraceptive failure. It has often been reiterated that abstinence-only programs endanger the youths because adolescents are denied complete information.   These programs fail to provide contraception information and in some cases, they have been accused of providing wrong information which may lead to youths forgoing contraceptive use. Teens are exposed to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases because of lack of responsible sex education.   Only safer sex intervention can reduce unprotected sexual intercourse as compared to abstinence only programs.   The Federal Fund for abstinence -only programs have negatively influenced schools.   Avery good example involves the Gloucester High school in Massachusetts with the summer vacations beginning 17 girls at the school are expecting babies (Kathleen Kingsbury, Wednesday June 18, 2008). This proves further the failure of the program to curb pre-marital pregnancies.   In order to reduce the prevalence of this at the school a local pediatrician advocated for the prescription of contraceptives.   However, this has been met with hostility.   Amazingly it is the desire of these teens to get pregnant and this only proves how distorted their perception towards life is.

Why Reading is SO important

â€Å"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.† Margaret Fuller Often, people tend to question themselves as to why reading is so important. Why kill all your time on reading? Why spend more time on words? Academic Excellence Evidence shows that the children that do focus on reading and find pleasure in so doing, are very likely to have an expansive base on vocabulary, high general knowledge as well as an improved understanding of other people’s culture. It is a matter of fact that trough reading, a child’s capability to flourish at school more than in social or economic ventures can be analysed through reading. The third grade is always the turning point for students because they no longer â€Å"learn to read† but rather they â€Å"read to learn† and this tends to be a very great turning point for the students themselves. Research shows that 66 % of fourth graders scored ‘below proficient’ on the 2013 National Assessment of Education Program (NAEP) reading test which demonstrates that they are not at their grade’s reading level. This shows a lag in the reading and leaning strategies that are in place to aid for better education and learning systems. This is a very critical issue to acknowledge. As a result, children are four times more likely to fail to graduate high school if they are not at par with their grade’s reading level. Even more distressing is the fact that among students from low-income backgrounds, 80 % scored below grading level in reading, which makes us recognize the fact that lack of resources such as books can immensely influence the reading level of a child. 5 Essential Reading Components Reading by itself is a very astoundingly complex and cognitive process. It might be considered as a singular act but rather it is a much intertwined fusion of 5 tasks that are simultaneous. Children who read regularly are prone to hone these 5 skills with ease. Phonics – the connection between letter symbols and sounds. Phonemic awareness – the ability to manipulate and notice sounds in a word. Vocabulary – the ability to understand the meaning of the word while reading or writing. Fluency the ability to read with speed, accuracy and expression. Comprehension – the ability to understand while reading. What parents can do? Children are made readers on the laps of their parents. — Emilie Buchwald Parents are clearly the most influential educators in a child’s life, some could say even more influential than a teacher, as they spend the greater amount of time with their children. Their relationship with the children as their early mentors makes it possible to influence their reading and learning ways to be more of readers. Below are some things that parents could indulge in: It is said that babies can recognize their parents’ voice from inside the womb itself. Reading to your baby from the time they are born expands their exposure to language. Reading aloud to your child helps in building the child’s interest. Pointing out the words and pictures and sharing your ideas about the book can also help a lot. Surrounding your child with books is another good strategy. It doesn’t mean that you have to pile them up with books rather visiting libraries and bookshops is one of the great ideas that you could indulge the child in. Notably don’t pester your kids with meaningful words or stories all the time. Let them savor the book in their own way.